If You Won The Lottery $30 million - Christian responsibility?

[seeker2122]

A lot of Christians play the lottery and I don't think there is anything wrong with it because you are donating to Hospitals and Health care.
Of course, if you become addicted and abuse it, then it's a problem, but $2 a week is fine.

So let's say you won $30 million dollars (USD). As a Christian, what would be your responsibility in using that money? Should you give 10% to your church?
Or can you decide how to give 10% of it in your own way to God? Should you give your family members, relatives, extended family, long time friends, some money? How much? $10k each? Would you be greedy or selfish if only gave 10k or 20k to some close family? Some might think for $30 million, you should at least gives 100k to your relatives.

Would you donate half or more of it to God's Kingdom purposes? ie. Missionaries, church programs, outreach, funding Christian programs etc. Would it be sinful if you decided to invest half of it into stocks and real estate and other investments? Buy a new home for a couple million and a new SUV for 100k?

How would you go about honoring and giving glory to God with $30 million USD?

 

[d taylor]

-​

If i did win and were in a financial position to give to any ministries. They first would have to teach the correct way a person receives God's free gift of Eternal Life, by faith alone in The Messiah. Other wise the money is being misused on incorrect beliefs and teachings.

 

[Unqualified]

10% to God

 

[JosephZ]

A $30 million jackpot would come to around $20 million after federal and local taxes. I would give 90% to various churches, family, and others. I would probably set asside $10 million just to help random people following personal tragedies or hardships. That way I could anonymously give $10,000 to 1000 individuals in their time of need.

I would still have $2 million for myself which would still be way more than I need, so I would probably end up giving most of that away over time as well.

 

[Blade]

Easy to talk about when you don't have it. Not asking don't care but what do we do with what we have now? If we don't do it now with what we do have been blessed with small or great we would not with $30mil.

So who is your Father? Did the world, the enemy give you this $30mil or was it from God? For me not you for me I had a dream and it was the exact place where my mom worked. Restaurant then double doors to the bar. I put 25c in and got this ticket and won. So the woman at the bar takes me behind the bar opens this drawer had a huge bottle of Champaign. At that time I never new they came in bottles that big. I said I don't drink. There we two people that ran this bible study had very strange drinks like a tube full of colors. He comes over says I need to repent and then this alter shows up so beautiful red. Then everything changed. I am in this white open space all friends (believers) around this bush that was burning yet not. I had got this check when I won. I was told I had to put in the fire. As I started to put it in I started getting all these doubts as to.. no why I can keep it and the dream ended.

There are dreams visions the enemy can give yet you KNOW the ones that are from God always a peace love you just know. I was like 15 or so and I have never would never play the lottery. Why? I just know for me He said NO. Odd I have never questioned why not. So I would never win $30mil. You should look into those that won and what they were like before then after. So easy to say what you would do but when you have it.

There is no wrong or right answer here. So your car is broken is very late and your trying to fix it you have a family and the guy that lives in the apartment building comes out says "you never say word nor ask any questions so here take this money to fix your car". And hands you this huge wad of money. What do you do? No sin here but there is a right and wrong answer. Be surprised how many times we should have said no.

See I said yes...since it was not God that gave it.. I wont cast here..

 

[Lost Witness]

LORD willing, give it all but what's needed to catch up on personal debt.. to ministries abroad. In Africa, India, Iran, Pakistan, Honduras , China etc
All of which would be done anonymously.


May The LORD Bless You and Keep You



Shalom Aleichem

 

[revybub]

I would spend whatever I needed to pay any depts I had. Maybe a few life improvements I would "think" I may need.
Perhaps help some family and friends. Invest some for retirement and emergency needs. Then give a chunk to an organization I feel does good in helping others.

 

[Joined2krist]

I would give $20million to poor people. Then I will keep $10million.

 

[Gregory Thompson]

A lot of Christians play the lottery and I don't think there is anything wrong with it because you are donating to Hospitals and Health care.
Of course, if you become addicted and abuse it, then it's a problem, but $2 a week is fine.

So let's say you won $30 million dollars (USD). As a Christian, what would be your responsibility in using that money? Should you give 10% to your church?
Or can you decide how to give 10% of it in your own way to God? Should you give your family members, relatives, extended family, long time friends, some money? How much? $10k each? Would you be greedy or selfish if only gave 10k or 20k to some close family? Some might think for $30 million, you should at least gives 100k to your relatives.

Would you donate half or more of it to God's Kingdom purposes? ie. Missionaries, church programs, outreach, funding Christian programs etc. Would it be sinful if you decided to invest half of it into stocks and real estate and other investments? Buy a new home for a couple million and a new SUV for 100k?

How would you go about honoring and giving glory to God with $30 million USD?

In case you weren't aware, the bible does say that if you give to the poor, you give to God.

So it's most recommended to use it to help those who would be considered "the least" in society.

Since the church is kind of failing at it's job in recent decades, giving (too much) to a church doesn't sound like a good investment.

 

[seeker2122]

I've always heard of the argument "why would God give you millions of dollars if you can't even be faithful with the little money you have now?". Very sound and valid argument. But then I wonder, most of the people that win large sums of money by "chance" (or God's doing?) aren't even Christians and don't have their own lives in order. So that argument is thrown out the window. Why would God allow some druggie or hedonist to win $700 million powerball and not give that to one his own faithful men or women who would use that money for God?

So clearly, you can be a wreck and irresponsible person with money and you can still win $300 million or $30 million. I don't believe in the argument that God would never let you win the lotto if your own life is not in order with what little you have. Plenty of people win it oddly that even God knows they were going to waste it all and blow it away for pleasures of the flesh and not a dime spent on God's mission.

Strange how it works eh? I wonder if God allowed them to win it, or he gifted them with it for some odd reason, or he had nothing to do with it and it was really all by chance and random luck of the draw (which I find hard to believe too).

It's related to a question I asked months ago about finding love and getting married.
People say things like, "God will gift you a loving partner only when you marry Jesus first!" Sounds peachy. But so untrue. Most marriages in this world happen between two people who aren't either a) Christians, b) faithful people, c) mature, d) responsible, e) ready.
This idea that somehow God will only grant you this "gift" if you are mature and ready is not consistent with the real world facts. Why couldn't God allow me to meet an amazing person even though my life is not in order and I am not mature but riddled with troubles? It happens to a lot of people! Hmm...... then couldn't your life improve after the "gift?".

Is it always the case that people who win large sums of money just end up having their lives ruined?
Isn't it equally as common for people whose lives were trash and then something amazing happens like winning the lottery and they turn their life around also valid?

So the question is also...does power corrupt or does power just magnify what is already there? I think the answer is both. Winning large sums of money can corrupt your character, but not always. It may also just magnify what was already in you. Same thing with love/marriage. It's a lottery. You randomly get chosen to find the perfect partner and that person makes you a better person in life. Why do people think that's not how it works but that you have to first make yourself a better person and then you'll attract a better person for your life.

I love the line in the movie, "As Good As It Gets" with Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt when his character says to her, "You make me want to be a better man."

I love that statement. I believe in it. I do believe things can make you want to be better. Whether it be a partner in marriage/love or say winning a large sum of money, you can be inspired to be a better version of yourself...the best person you can be. But you can also do that without winning any lottery too of course! Anyone choose to be a better version of themselves with or without a gift but I think a gift sure makes it a lot more inspiring and dare I say it.....easier too.

 

[Soyeong]

A lot of Christians play the lottery and I don't think there is anything wrong with it because you are donating to Hospitals and Health care.
Of course, if you become addicted and abuse it, then it's a problem, but $2 a week is fine.

So let's say you won $30 million dollars (USD). As a Christian, what would be your responsibility in using that money? Should you give 10% to your church?
Or can you decide how to give 10% of it in your own way to God? Should you give your family members, relatives, extended family, long time friends, some money? How much? $10k each? Would you be greedy or selfish if only gave 10k or 20k to some close family? Some might think for $30 million, you should at least gives 100k to your relatives.

Would you donate half or more of it to God's Kingdom purposes? ie. Missionaries, church programs, outreach, funding Christian programs etc. Would it be sinful if you decided to invest half of it into stocks and real estate and other investments? Buy a new home for a couple million and a new SUV for 100k?

How would you go about honoring and giving glory to God with $30 million USD?

The problem with winning $30 million from the lottery is that you are much more likely to make everyone unhappy with how you choose to use to, and even if you choose to give someone a cut, they are likely to be unhappy because you could have given them a bigger cut. Most people are not trained in how to handle that much money and even when people have the best intentions for how to use the money, they can tear apart their relationships by what they choose to do with it. Following up on people 5 or 10 years after they have won the lottery is often not a pretty picture, and a number of those people are in debt.

 

[JosephZ]

Following up on people 5 or 10 years after they have won the lottery is often not a pretty picture, and a number of those people are in debt.

Those people would be in the minority. Most lottery winners do quite well after winning.

 

[Tropical Wilds]

A lot of Christians play the lottery and I don't think there is anything wrong with it because you are donating to Hospitals and Health care.
Of course, if you become addicted and abuse it, then it's a problem, but $2 a week is fine.

So let's say you won $30 million dollars (USD). As a Christian, what would be your responsibility in using that money? Should you give 10% to your church?
Or can you decide how to give 10% of it in your own way to God? Should you give your family members, relatives, extended family, long time friends, some money? How much? $10k each? Would you be greedy or selfish if only gave 10k or 20k to some close family? Some might think for $30 million, you should at least gives 100k to your relatives.

Would you donate half or more of it to God's Kingdom purposes? ie. Missionaries, church programs, outreach, funding Christian programs etc. Would it be sinful if you decided to invest half of it into stocks and real estate and other investments? Buy a new home for a couple million and a new SUV for 100k?

How would you go about honoring and giving glory to God with $30 million USD?

Honestly, it’s not worth speculating unless it has actually happened. Nobody knows what they’d do until it happened to them and it happens so exceedingly rarely that it’s not worth developing a “what if” game plan so as to be prepared. This isn’t an “I need advice” situation, more of a “what’s your daydream” scenario.

 

[Questioning Brother]

10% off the top to God so $3 million so after taxes $17 mill. Probably split it up among area churches. The tithe was originally to support the priests as they didn't inherit the land. Pray about the rest, but don't hesitate to give it to someone in need. Homeless shelters, orphanges, etc are popular choices, but look around to see where your local community and churches need it.

 

[Dave Darling]

If I ever won the lottery I would give alot of money to churches, bible colleges, and christian colleges such as Messiah, Liberty University, Regent University, and others. Depending on how much money I got I would first give to alot of christian institutions and if I had any left after that I might make donations to local hospitals.

 

[SavedByGrace3]

Invest it in such a way that it would keep on giving. Put it into a church or some organization that would continue to prosper people for years. Feed people, teach people.

 

[Diamond72]

So let's say you won $30 million dollars (USD). As a Christian, what would be your responsibility in using that money? Should you give 10% to your church?

Whatever you do now with what you have is what you would do if you had more.

 

[seeker2122]

Whatever you do now with what you have is what you would do if you had more.

I thought this as well. But I do believe more has the ability to change you, too.
For example the saying: Does power corrupt or does power just magnify what is already there?

Both are true.
If I have $100 and decide to blow $90 of it on a video game and save only $10 for food, doesn't necessarily mean
if I had $100 million, I'd blow $90 million on games and save $10 million food. Even if I did by that ratio, $10 million
would be more than enough to live off the rest of my life with food so actually this method would be quite wise lol.

I also believe if you have $10 and willing to spend half of it on adult magazines then if you had $10 million you'd probably
spend a lot of it on prostitutes and escorts etc. It magnifies what is already there. It can also corrupt.

But overall I agree with you. It's biblical. Jesus said something similar....if you are faithful with a little then he will give you
more (that kind of thing). Why would God give us more when we already failed with the little tasks? Seems to make sense
except when you find out that so many unbelievers win $200 million and it makes you wonder what they did to merit or deserve
such a reward? Did they have faith in God and carry out successfully the small things? So this always makes me believe then I
can win it too even if I'm not a good person right now and doesn't deserve to have more on paper.

 

[bèlla]

I've never played the lottery and doubt that will change. It's difficult to fathom my response. Where am I in life, my responsibilities, societal conditions and so on? Beyond the necessary legal and financial requirements I'd opt for stillness and see what the Lord says.

There's a recent discussion on this topic on YouTube. A man won $29 million and kept it from his family. The statistics he shared are troubling but common.

~bella

 

[JosephZ]

There's a recent discussion on this topic on YouTube. A man won $29 million and kept it from his family. The statistics he shared are troubling but common.

Here's the link where the man in the video got his information from. Lottery Winner Statistics

In the video around the 3:45 mark, he said that 3,700 new homes were purchased and the winners were overspending by doing this, but that's how many mortgages were paid off which would be a good financial move. In addition to lottery winners paying of their mortgages, an additional 8,000 new homes were purchased, but it doesn't clarify for who. It could be homes for friends, family, or even the homeless. Who knows?

Around the 4:38 mark in the video he also mentioned another statistic about 70% of the 3,000 winners going broke after just 5 years. This statistic didn't come from the same study of 3,000 winners, but from a study of less than 50 people in the state of Florida.

The National Endowment for Financial Education reports that 70% of lottery winners later go bankrupt...

The “lottery curse” is a familiar morality tale, and it’s obvious why it has caught the popular imagination: we live in a world that rewards hard work and modesty. The idea that someone can live a happily-ever-after life thanks to sheer luck is maddening; it’s much simpler if the money ruins their life, confirming that our daily drudgery might be the best path all along.

Unfortunately, it simply isn’t true.

Despite how widely cited their claim is in the media, the National Endowment for Financial Education denies ever having provided that figure.

[Over the past couple of years several news organizations have attributed a statistic to the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) stating that 70 percent of lottery winners end up bankrupt in just a few years after receiving a large financial windfall. This statistic is not backed by research from NEFE, nor can it be confirmed by the organization. Frequent reporting—without validation from NEFE—has allowed this “stat” to survive online in perpetuity.

In 2001, NEFE conducted a think tank of experts from several industries including psychology, financial planning and other fields, to discuss life-changing events and the psychology around them. One topic discussed was the impact of financial windfalls on individuals, where it is believed that a participant stated the 70 percent statistic. This statement was made independently and without verification from NEFE.] (Source)

As for Brickman’s study, that was real — but it probably wouldn’t get published today, considering its sample size of fewer than 50 people including both lottery winners and the control group, as well as the differences between these groups that weren’t taken into account; for example, the control group members were almost twice as likely to have attended university as the lottery winners they were compared with.

Lottery Winners Don’t Actually Go Broke

Nor do their lives fall apart.

medium.com