19/11/2013

Good morning. You may well remember where you watched it. I was perched, alone, on the edge of a frugally upholstered orthopaedic chair in a council house in Bristol. My fellow community worker had retreated to the kitchen as she didn’t approve of gambling. And as the opening sequence began, with drum rolls of excitement, I will confess to a rising bubble of hope. I knew I wouldn’t win, cos I hadn’t bought a ticket, but maybe my parents’ numbers would come up. (I’d deal with any moral compromise later). In that first National Lottery draw 19 years ago today, we were introduced to Mystic Meg who said what we were all thinking. “It could be yoouu!” And when those ‘big money balls’ were released, my parents DID win! Ten pounds!<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

More than 3000 millionaires have been created in nearly twenty years. And whatever your view of the lottery, you may just have allowed yourself to dream of overnight riches… how you’d spend those new found millions… and how your life could change.

It’s an interesting exercise in assessing your lot. What could be better if money were no object? And what are the things in your life now that make you rich? For me, a sense of connectedness enriches me. To family and friends, and to things going on. And it’s interesting that wealth can sometimes hinder that, as the drive to achieve and to acquire eats up precious time and energy. The millionaire John Rockerfeller was famously asked “how much is enough?” To which he answered “Just a little bit more”.

Jesus taught that the most valuable currency is love. And unlike money, the more you spend, the more you receive. It’s often true that when we act lovingly towards someone alone, for instance, we are as blessed as they are.

Lord thank you for the blessing of relationships. Help me to invest in the currency of love. Amen.