Apparently, some American lottery crossed the billion dollar prize mark this week. Also apparently, that makes it equal in news-worthiness to stories about the flooding in Kentucky, the Retrumpagains voting down the PACT bill, the missing DHS and Secret Service texts from January 6th, and the falling debris from China's uncontrolled rocket. I mean, don't get me wrong, a billion dollars is a LOT of money ... but I wouldn't want it.
Seriously.
Sure, I would like to not worry about paying bills or wondering if we have enough to go out to eat on a date night. For example, I would like it if I could get Scarlet (my ATV/plow) running again, our living room carpet replaced, many of our windows replaced, and the kitchen and bathroom remodeled. However, even if I were to add in paying off the home, car, and student loans, that would still leave me with over 99.9% of that billion dollars (yes, I know the winner would not actually have a billion dollars). Even if I gave a million dollars to each of the 33 members of my immediate family (wife, children, grandchildren, parents, siblings and spouses, nieces and nephews, both on my side and Janelle's), I would still have over 96% of that billion dollars left over.
Winning that billion dollar jackpot would make it so that jackpot became my life. It's different when the money one earns pays for the lifestyle to which one is accustomed. To suddenly exceed that would change my place in the world. I would doubt any new attempts at friendship. I would likely question any renewed relationships with family or friends. I would continually worry about the money and what my ethical, Christian obligation is with it. After all, Jesus said "From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked." I don't know if I (let alone anyone) is capable of dealing with that level of responsibility.
I know that people might say, "If you don't want it, give it to me," but I wouldn't want to curse them with it either. With that money comes the power that such an amount of money represents, and as I said, I don't think anyone could have that and not have it change them. And, of course: "With great power comes great responsibility." Even in giving it away, I would be responsible for ill that might befall due to those people having that money and others not.
Still ... if I were a rich man ...
Seriously.
Sure, I would like to not worry about paying bills or wondering if we have enough to go out to eat on a date night. For example, I would like it if I could get Scarlet (my ATV/plow) running again, our living room carpet replaced, many of our windows replaced, and the kitchen and bathroom remodeled. However, even if I were to add in paying off the home, car, and student loans, that would still leave me with over 99.9% of that billion dollars (yes, I know the winner would not actually have a billion dollars). Even if I gave a million dollars to each of the 33 members of my immediate family (wife, children, grandchildren, parents, siblings and spouses, nieces and nephews, both on my side and Janelle's), I would still have over 96% of that billion dollars left over.
Winning that billion dollar jackpot would make it so that jackpot became my life. It's different when the money one earns pays for the lifestyle to which one is accustomed. To suddenly exceed that would change my place in the world. I would doubt any new attempts at friendship. I would likely question any renewed relationships with family or friends. I would continually worry about the money and what my ethical, Christian obligation is with it. After all, Jesus said "From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked." I don't know if I (let alone anyone) is capable of dealing with that level of responsibility.
I know that people might say, "If you don't want it, give it to me," but I wouldn't want to curse them with it either. With that money comes the power that such an amount of money represents, and as I said, I don't think anyone could have that and not have it change them. And, of course: "With great power comes great responsibility." Even in giving it away, I would be responsible for ill that might befall due to those people having that money and others not.
Still ... if I were a rich man ...
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