Last month while on vacation, Judy and I were invited by several friends for a dinner at their country club.  As we entered the lobby, a group was selling raffle tickets for prizes to be given away after the dinner.  The proceeds for the raffle were for a good cause, cancer research, so a few of our friends purchased tickets.

Some of you might appreciate that raffles and money pools, such as for March Madness basketball, place me in an awkward position. From childhood, I was taught never to gamble. Plus, many Christians frown on gambling of any kind because they view it as poor stewardship of resources and it can become addictive. So, while I may have a “weak conscience” about this issue (see 1 Corinthians 8), most would agree it is a bad look for a pastor to be seen standing at a betting window, sitting at a slot machine, or purchasing lottery tickets at the food mart.

However, when one of our friends purchased a large roll of the raffle tickets and gifted them to our group, I was perfectly okay with accepting a ticket because it was not my investment.  (Plus, at this point, I was growing keenly interested in the prizes offered, which included such items as a $50 gift certificate to Outback Steakhouse and even a free round of golf at the local club.)

Dozens of ticket numbers were called throughout the evening, yet mine was not one of them. However, as the last number of the night was called, it matched my ticket! The final prize of the night! However, it was not for the steak dinner or a free round of golf. Instead, it was for a pitiful-looking twig of a tree with 15-20 lottery tickets dangling from it. My prize was a lotto tree. Our group burst into laughter when the “tree” was presented to me. Not only had I won something, I won the lottery!

Truthfully, playing the lottery is not a big temptation for me. I am more tempted to bet on sporting events because that takes skill. And since I think I know a little about sports, I imagine I could be decent at it. However, playing the lottery is not much of a temptation. (Although when I see that the Jackpot has grown to hundreds of millions of dollars, I catch myself contemplating it for a split second.)

As you might expect, our friends enjoyed the irony, laughed, and snapped pictures of the pastor carrying a bunch of lottery tickets.  I laughed with them, but admit I was also a little excited. After all, who knows? Just maybe that Mega Millions lottery ticket could be on that tree. (I imagined what I would do with the money: half would go to the church, well, maybe a third, but I would be generous!)

Upon returning to our friends’ condominium, Judy and I scratched off the tickets. It took about 20 minutes for us to realize I had won $12 total. Twelve dollars?  Yes, twelve dollars. While we scratched off nearly $70 worth of tickets, the return was only $12. What a letdown!  What a rip-off!  The advertisements for lottery tickets always depict people winning big and participants having so much fun. People are cheering and embracing!  It certainly did not turn out that way for us. Judy did not embrace me for a mere $12.  The devil is long on promise and short on delivery.  He should be indicted for false advertising!

That humorous experience reminded me of several Biblical principles about temptation:

1. We never get so spiritually mature that sin does not have some allure. Jesus was perfect, yet the Bible says He was tempted in every way we are. Yet Jesus did not sin! (see Hebrews 4:15)  If Jesus, the perfect Son of God, was tempted, we will be also.  The Bible makes it clear that the ways of this world and the desires of the flesh can be seductive. That is why Jesus said we must take up our cross daily and follow him.

2. We are tempted in different areas. My friend Ken Mahannes tells the story of a wife who was tempted toward gluttony and kept gaining weight.  So, she cut out a picture of a Victoria’s Secret model and pasted it on the refrigerator door. Each time she was tempted to go to the refrigerator for a snack, she would see that picture and be reminded of her fitness goal. Her plan worked. She lost 10 pounds in two months. The problem was that her husband had gained 10 pounds!

One is tempted to gluttony, another to lust.  One is tempted to gamble, another to hoard.  One is tempted to envy, another to laziness.  Some are enticed by greed, another pride.  We are created differently, and Satan knows how to dangle the most alluring bait where we are most vulnerable.

3. It is always wise to resist temptation because Satan never delivers in the long term. The lottery was not nearly as fulfilling as the advertisements promised.  Satan is a liar, but God is a promise keeper. In the end, God does “…immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine…” (see Ephesians 3:20).  So, our daily challenge should be to obey the Lord and wait patiently for His promises to be fulfilled.

There is a wise old saying, “Sow a thought and you reap an action; sow an act, and you reap a habit; sow a habit, and you reap a character; sow a character, and you reap a destiny.”

Indeed, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life” (Galatians 6:7-8)

.

Follow BobRussellKY on Twitter and LIKE the Bob Russell page on Facebook