MONEY can't buy you happiness.

Can happiness be bought with Money? That was the discussion I had with a couple of colleagues during our usual lunchtime talk. Their lunch time practise were always to drive out to the nearby food centres for a meal. Most of the time, it will also mean a visit to the Toto/4D queue for their weekly bets.

Although their reasons are varied, there is an underlying assumption that all their problems will be solved once they can hit the jackpot. For that they will be happy.
True. Money can solved a whole lot of problems and bring you happiness, albeit momentarily. However, money could also bring you a host of other problems as well.

An article in a recent newspaper mentioned that going by past examples, lottery winners rarely end up happy. Instead, many of them end up in the dumps. It cited that 2 out of 3 winners lose or spend all their money within 5 years.

So, why gamble? The odds against you winning is so high and even when you win, chances are that you will not be happy.

The answer lies in your heart. The Bible tells us that "the love of money is the root of all evil". The reason most gamblers do not stop to think about what they are doing is that they are motivated by greed. That, of course, is what gambling is all about. If you win, you get back the money you put down plus a lot more. You bet a little in hopes of winning a lot.

According to the Bible, there are three legitimate ways to get money. First, you can work for it. (2 Thessalonians 3:10) Second, you can make money through wise investments. (Luke 19:1-27) Third, you can receive a gift or an inheritance. (2 Corinthians 12:14) There is no fourth category.

Perhaps we should hear again the words of the Apostle Paul in I Timothy 6:6-10.

"But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs."



Let us ask God to teach us contentment with what we already have. This is the central issue in the gambling debate. Do we believe that God will take care of all our needs all the time? If the answer is yes, then we don't need to help him out by gambling. If the answer is no, then we've got problems a lot bigger than whether or not to buy a lottery ticket.