The Dangers of Playing the Lottery

Lottery

Many states hold a lottery in order to raise money for various public usages, such as education. While the money does help the state, it’s usually just a small drop in the bucket for most of these states, and those who win the lottery can still be bankrupt within a few years due to taxes. The real message that state governments are relying on is to give people the idea they are doing their civic duty by buying a ticket, and that there is some sliver of hope that they will win the big prize.

In the past, lotteries were a popular way to raise money for poor people or public projects. They were hailed as painless forms of taxation, and the oldest running lottery in Europe is the Dutch Staatsloterij, established in 1726. Privately organized lotteries were also common in the United States before the American Revolution, and they helped fund such institutions as Harvard, Dartmouth, Yale, and William and Mary.

The problem with lotteries is that they tend to promote covetousness, and encourage people to believe that their problems will be solved if only they win the jackpot. God forbids coveting what belongs to others (Exodus 20:17). Instead of playing the lottery, people should spend their money on more meaningful endeavors, such as starting a business or investing in something that will make them money over time, rather than spending it hoping to get lucky with the numbers.