Billie Bob Harrell Jr. won $31 million in 1997. Harrell used the money to purchase a ranch, homes, and cars for himself and family members. His spending and lending spiraled out of control. Harrell divorced, and just 20 months after winning the money, he committed suicide using a shotgun.
Victoria Zell won $11 million in 2001. Zell landed in prison after a drug- and alcohol-induced collision that paralyzed one person and killed another.
Jack Whittaker won $315 million in 2002. After winning, his life involved arrests, shattered relationships, lawsuits and the death of loved ones. Whittaker later said he wished he had “torn up the ticket.”
Callie Rogers won $3 million in 2003. Sixteen-year-old Rogers spent the money on fancy cars, gifts, lavish vacations and plastic surgery. An ex-boyfriend got her hooked on cocaine, a habit she spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on, and she attempted suicide twice.
Keith Gough won £9 million in 2005. He bought racehorses, divorced his wife, was conned by a girlfriend, became an alcoholic, developed cirrhosis of the liver and died in 2010. He told a newspaper before his death, “My life was brilliant but the Lottery ruined everything. …What’s the point of having money when it sends you to bed crying?”
Abraham Shakespeare won $31 million in 2006. Shakespeare went missing in 2009 after spending most of the money. A few months later, his body was found under a slab of concrete.
To put perspective on these stories, we should realize that many people dream of winning the lottery because they feel certain it would bring them lasting happiness. As long as they don’t win, hope remains. But once they do win and still don’t find happiness, their hope is gone.
As a bumper sticker says, “The lottery is a tax on people who are bad at math.” The chances are greater of being struck by lightning than of winning a multimillion-dollar lottery. But even if someone ends up winning, the gambler has violated God’s means of provision. It’s hard and wise labor that brings financial profit (Proverbs 14:23). Even then, reality is that money and material possessions can never satisfy the deepest longings of our hearts.
God is jealous of our affections, demanding that He alone be the focus of our worship (Exodus 20:3-5).
May we remember that ultimate satisfaction can only be found in God, the gracious giver of all good things. We were made for Him and we will never be satisfied with less.
