Joke

I saw this “joke” this morning…

‘Irving was a pious man. He was sitting at his kitchen table, praying earnestly. “Please Lord, let me win the lottery. Please Lord, let me win the lottery!” A Heavenly voice called down to Irving. “Irving, for goodness sake! Meet me halfway! Go to the corner, buy a ticket!”’

There is so much to unpack from this “joke” …

First, I suggest that anyone reading this has already “won the lottery.” We live in a time and place where death from starvation is almost unheard of. When I was a little kid, my mom took my sister and I out to get snow boots just as a winter snow storm hit (hoping to stay ahead of the worst part). Because we lived in the country, it took us over 10hrs to get back home and we all thought we were starving. That is a far cry from many places in our world. I am not saying that some people don’t face serious difficulties in surviving while others are wasteful. All I’m saying is that, compared to other times in our history, we have a relatively luxurious life without winning the lottery (before someone brings up how difficult it is today to buy a house with salary and housing changes over the last 30 years, know that my first question is going to be what device you created your retort on).

“And Jacob lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, Esau was coming, and four hundred men with him. So he divided the children among Leah and Rachel and the two female servants. And he put the servants with their children in front, then Leah with her children, and Rachel and Joseph last of all. He himself went on before them, bowing himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother. But Esau ran to meet him and embraced him and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept. And when Esau lifted up his eyes and saw the women and children, he said, “Who are these with you?” Jacob said, “The children whom God has graciously given your servant.” Then the servants drew near, they and their children, and bowed down. Leah likewise and her children drew near and bowed down. And last Joseph and Rachel drew near, and they bowed down. Esau said, “What do you mean by all this company that I met?” Jacob answered, “To find favor in the sight of my Lord.” But Esau said, “I have enough, my brother; keep what you have for yourself.” - Genesis 33:1-9 ESV

Second, and I did not know the deacon’s message or the sermon today when I started typing this, what is your focus in life?  Is your focus on God as your savior and redeemer or is it on what you’d like to have that you don’t or what someone else has and you don’t?  I heard Patrick make a comment about the potential sinful nature of buying lottery tickets over a year ago now. But the motivation/desire/wish that is in your heart when you buy that ticket determines whether you are worshiping money or God. As an alternative example, I have bought lots of raffle tickets over my lifetime for various charity organizations.  Every time (at least that I can remember), I never really thought I had a chance of winning and I was just donating to the charity.

“Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” - James 5:13-16

Third, in the joke, Irving was praying for something for himself and these kinds of prayers always worry me (especially when I catch myself praying in that way). Prayer should be the opportunity for your soul filled with the Holy Spirit reaching out to God through Jesus Christ to, at least where I’m at in my faith walk, reflect on what God’s plan is for your life and the needs to succeed at God’s objective.  In other words, it’s an opportunity to listen to God’s plan for your life and for you to access what you need to meet it.  For example, if I felt that God wanted me to be a Vascular Cardiologist Surgeon, at this point in my life, my needs and planning to meet those needs, would be monumental. Thank God, I’ve never felt the calling to be any kind of surgeon.

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” - Matthew 6:25-34

I know that some of you are saying “geesh, it was only a joke” and you are right. The more you think about it, the more significant it is.