“Be content with what you have.” – Hebrews 13:5
“If I ever win the lottery I’m going to . . .” [fill in the blank]. Or maybe you’re an optimist who says it more boldly; not “IF I win the lottery,” but “WHEN I win the lottery.” Either way, how many of us have ever said it, if not out loud, at least fantasized about it privately? Oh, how we dream of a few million bucks falling in our laps! Yes, that would solve everything. Or would it?
The wakeup call usually comes when we read about some lottery winner, or other newly-rich person, who ends up losing it all. While precise statistics are hard to come by, at least based on my meager research, some of the studies and anecdotes (mostly) seem to suggest that a significant number of winners eventually encounter financial difficulties, with a substantial portion, if not all, of their winnings slipping away. Overspending, poor investments, and indulgent lifestyles seem to be the primary causes, not to mention family squabbles, divorces, addictive behaviors, or gambling habits.
Steve, my best buddy from childhood, once shared with me some great advice he had received from his father years ago. “You always want to have enough,” he said, “but you don’t need to have too much.” Having been close to Steve’s dad, who was like a second father to me, I can say with certainty that he modeled his own words. Work hard, he might add, excel at what you do, take care of your family, be a good citizen, look out for your neighbors, contribute to your community, then “be content with what you have,” and your life will be abundant beyond any lottery winnings you could ever imagine.
My own dad had an amusing fantasy about winning the lottery. “When I win the lottery . . .” (My dad, ever the optimist!) “When I win the lottery,” he would tell my brother, “the first thing I’m going to do is buy you a new pickup.” My brother, you see, had this old beat-up pickup truck he kept out on his ranch that he used to hall hay, feed his cows, and do other chores around the place. Filthy, rusted, dented, cracked windshield and torn seat covers, smelling like cow manure, yet that old pickup served its purpose as well as any fancy new Ford F150 ever could. So, every time Daddy brought it up, my brother would just look at him and laugh. He loved that old truck, and for him it symbolized what it means to have enough, and to “be content with what you have.”