I grew up in trailer courts and apartment complexes, raised by a single mom who did everything she could to provide for my older brother and me. We lived in a poverty-stricken, high-crime area where survival was a daily struggle. Still, thanks to my mom’s relentless work ethic and sacrificial love, we always had just enough.
But later on, something changed.
In 1983, the same year I graduated from high school, the Colorado Lottery launched. Over time, after we’d grown and left home, my mom began buying scratch tickets. What started small turned into an addiction. With no kids left to provide for, her extra money went to the Lotto. There were times she barely had enough food, yet she always found a way to keep scratching.
When I finally confronted her, she broke down in tears. We threw out bag after bag of losing tickets—years’ worth of false hope. It broke my heart. Not just because of what it did to her, but because I realized she wasn’t alone. Millions of financially struggling people live in that same trap, spending money they can’t afford to lose, chasing a win that rarely comes.
The false gospel of guaranteed wealth
The lottery isn’t the only place where desperation meets deception. The same tactics show up in many churches under the banner of the “prosperity gospel.” Promises of 100-fold blessings and supernatural wealth are made to believers who are already struggling. “Sow a seed,” they’re told, “and God will make you rich.”
But it’s a lie.
It’s a spiritual version of the scratch ticket. Charlatans in expensive suits promise that if you give to their ministry, God will reward you financially. Just like the lottery, it targets the poor, offering hope that’s really just hype.
Both the Lotto and the prosperity gospel are built on the same foundation: greed, not grace.
Real treasure is eternal
I’m not saying the lottery is inherently sinful if played occasionally. But when it becomes an addiction—when it feeds greed or false hope—it becomes a problem. The same goes for chasing blessings through manipulative theology.
Instead of grasping for quick riches, we’re called to a different path:
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on Earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21
Work hard. Save wisely. Give generously—to churches and ministries that are truly advancing the Gospel and making disciples. Don’t fund empty promises.
Seek the kind of wealth that lasts forever.
