Some people pray to win the lottery. It’s the prayer for abundance. Not the abundant life that Jesus talks about, but the abundance of wealth, status, power, and possession. I would caution anyone who would pray for such a thing. History tells us that lottery winners statically live worse lives.
I don’t know who said it, but someone said that money is magnifier. It makes you more of what you are. If you are a selfless generous and positive person, it makes you more so. If you are a greedy, selfish, negative person, it makes you more so. Abundance is like throwing miracle grow onto your character flaws. Think about that for a minute. If you are stingy without money, you will be stingy with an abundance of money. If you are generous with very little, you will be generous with a lot.
So on one hand, there’s nothing wrong with wanting a more comfortable life, I think. But being miserable and negative and discontent makes us like the Walking Dead. Why would anyone want to follow Christ, if we left our worship service praising God and felt miserable about our circumstances? How can we possibly minister to others if we are in a constant state of misery? If we are people of the cross, then we believe that Christ’s misery substituted ours. If we are a people of the cross, then we trust God to provide what we need, not what we want. If we are a people of the cross, then God uses us to provide for others. How will God use you this week?
