Prize-winning Providence
Written by: Warren Wiersbe
I get this idea every year about this time. It comes to me in a friendly, yet authoritative baritone voice: Ed McMahon’s. “You may already be a winner,” he says, “of $10,000,000.”
Now let me be clear: I don’t approve of gambling. But I figure that laying down a 29-cent stamp to return my entry form-without ordering any magazines-doesn’t push me too close to the slippery slope that will leave me broken and penniless in Atlantic City. And it makes me wonder: Why doesn’t God in his providence arrange for Christians to win all the big prizes?
Think of the evangelistic value. Become a Christian, be a winner! And what opportunity for Christian testimony it could hold. I know if I won $10,000,000, when they asked me for my reaction to use in their next commercial, I’d say, “I’d like to thank the good Lord for giving me this money.” Just think what the impact would be on that unbelieving world out there if, time after time, the big winners were all believers-not to mention the tithe on all those winnings flowing into churches and Christian organizations.
Of course, God might want to keep his distance from state lotteries. Maybe he could just handle contests like “Publisher’s Jackpot,” where there’s no gambling risk. And I can’t quite decide what he should do about the small stuff, like door prizes at hardware store grand openings. Maybe he could set a $20 minimum.
Now all I need is a few Scripture verses to shore up the idea. I’m sure there are some in the Bible somewhere-maybe in Ecclesiastes. Yeah, that’s the ticket.
©WWW. Previously published in Prokope, February 10, 1992.
2ProphetU is an online magazine/website, started by Warren Wiersbe and Michael Catt, to build up the church, seek revival, and encourage pastors.
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