Mavis Wanczyk was the winner of the largest single lottery payout in United States history. She won a whopping $758.7 million dollars in August 2017. The single, lump sum payout was $480 million or $336 million after taxes. With a drop of a ball Mavis’ life changed in an instant.
I began fantasizing about what I would do with so much money. I could live a life of luxury. I would of course make all of my family members immediate millionaires. Then my mind drifted to imagining how much charitable work I could do with such abundance. How many of us have secretly tried to bargain with God? If you would just let me win this lottery I promise to feed the poor and cloth the naked…
In Matthew 25: 14 we read the parable about the talents. A master is going away on a journey. He entrusts large sums of money to three of his slaves so that they can earn him more while he was gone. When he returned he found that two of the slaves doubled what they were given. To these slaves he entrusted even more money and responsibility.
The third slave had taken what he had been given and buried it in the ground. He returned to his master exactly what he had received, no more or no less. The master became enraged over this, stripped the slave of everything he had, and threw him out of his house. The slave was now less than he was before for he had nothing. He was naked and starving.
How many of us are like that third slave? How many of us take what we have been given, even if that is just a tiny amount, and bury it in the ground of our personal desires? I would do more for those in need but I haven’t anything left after making my two car payments, my house payment, and the payments on my large satellite TV package with the football network. Plus the latest I-Phone just came out. If that weren’t enough the dock at the cabin needs repairs…
It is easier to be charitable when we have an excess of everything. It is far harder to be charitable when we are just getting by or worse. Yet, we are called as Christians to be charitable at all times. No matter what our financial situation we all have something we can give, even if that is nothing more than a smile or a kind word.
The master has given us talents and he expects us to use them do multiply the good in this world as much as we are able. If we are good at it we will be given more responsibility and more to do good with or we will be put in a place where our ability to do more with less is in great need. If we are like that third slave, well, we will have our reward here on earth.
I don’t need $759 million dollars to make a difference in another person’s life. For that matter, I don’t need money at all. But if I give of my time and treasure I will be given more to do more with. Do not build up treasure here on earth. You can’t take it with you. Give it away freely and build up treasure in heaven. You have been given talents from the master. How will you double them before he returns to collect on his investment?
