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Playing the Lottery for Free
by Shalendra Johnson
Why is it that people live by the “Seeing Is Believing” and “Too
Good to be True” philosophies? Are we so afraid of our prideful nature
being damaged that we dare not trust in the inherently good? Take a survey
of college students who agree that Caesar conquered Pompeii and the results
will be unanimous. Why? He was not caught in the act on home video or audiocassette.
Barbara Walters did not interview him. No one discovered his fingerprints
at the scene. Yet, people still believe. Now, survey those same college
students. Ask them if they believe in a God who created, cared for, died
for, and lived again for the human race. The percentage rate would drop
immensely. And again I ask why. Both have the same evidence: scrolls or
books written by those who claim to have known them and also archeological
findings. The latter, however, has one far greater aspect of evidence –
nature. Is it not more conceivable that a man could live, die, and live
again than a ball of nothingness explodes into millions of different things.
Talk about massive cell division and specialization! One section of nothing
explodes into trees while the other bursts into oceans and seas and yet,
another into the skies and clouds. Boy, that nothingness really knew what
it was doing when it decided to blow up! So, in my redundant quest to figure
out why people are afraid of the “Too Good” that really is true, I will
demonstrate how having faith the size of a mustard seed is as beneficial
as playing the lottery for free.
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary says that faith is
complete trust. Is that all faith consists of? Where is the substance?
Where is the magic behind that? That definition is so empty that it only
inspires me to “completely trust” that my alarm clock will sound off at
9:00 a.m. because I set it for that time. On the other hand, Hebrews 11:1
says, “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do
not see.” Now that is definition. I like to divide this verse into three
parts.
The first is, “being sure and certain.” It does not matter whether we appeared out of thin air or not; we want to know what we are getting involved with. The prospect of sunny skies all year long is more pleasurable than an unpredictable monsoon sweeping over the nation.
The second is, “of what we hope for.” Everyone has
dreams and goals. They may be great or small. Each individual wants to
make some type of progress and reach a higher plane of prospects.
The final and best part of this verse is, “of what we do not see.”
That is where the miracle comes into play. Think of a man sitting on a
porch on a hot, humid day. He is hoping that a breeze would come along
to cool him off. Then suddenly, a slight wind rustles the leaves of a nearby
tree and the wind gently brushes his skin. Did he see it coming? No. Did
he see it leave? No. Yet, it still felt good. That is how faith operates.
One may not know how or when it is going to manifest good things, but he
is certain that it does. It is just as awesome as getting a free lottery
ticket that is guaranteed to win.
Pick 3: *Sheridan blends in with the rest of the
church congregation. She is casually dressed on a Tuesday night for spring
revival at church. She cracks a faint, thoughtful smile as she listens
to the guest preacher’s humorous message. She looks around and notices
and older man who looks quite unhappy. His mind seems to be in some sad
and lonely far away place. Suddenly she remembers the verse, “The effective,
fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much”, from James 5:16. Sheridan
had heard and read that verse many times, but she did not really know if
she believed it. She said to herself, “Let’s see if this is really true.”
As the congregation continued to respond to the preacher’s sermon with
chuckles and “Amens”, she prayed that God would take away the man’s apparent
look of sadness and allow him to enjoy the sermon. In less than one minute
after that prayer, the older man began nodding his head in agreement to
the preacher and slightly smiled at one of the preacher’s light-hearted
remarks. The man seemed content the rest of the night. Coincidence? Maybe…maybe
not!
Pick 4: *Taylor had been emotionally scarred by
the trauma of an abortion. She was a teen whose parents were disappointed
in her, whose boyfriend had left her, and who was pressured into giving
up the one being who would love her unconditionally – her unborn child.
She was severely depressed and cried nearly everyday. For two years she
prayed that her emotional pain would somehow be erased. Taylor says that
one night she dreamt she held her would-have-been baby girl in her arms.
Taylor even says that she can remember what her daughter wore and the softness
of her baby girl’s skin. She remembers waking up crying tears of joy at
having been able to virtually hold the baby she had longed for. Taylor’s
depression is now gone and she feels a sense of peace. The really miraculous
aspect of all of this is that she dreamt this dream exactly two years after
having the abortion, right down to the same week of the same month. Paranoia?
Possibly. Or was it God’s perfect plan of putting Taylor’s mind at ease?
Pick 5: *Celeste, a mother in her early thirties,
was overworked and terribly underpaid. She was so stressed that her doctor
ordered her to take a few days off of work. She also felt that she was
not spending enough time with her two-year-old son. Celeste eventually
became frustrated and quit her job. Many people thought she was crazy because
she did not have another job to replace the first. The only thing she had
was faith that she and her husband would somehow make ends meet.
During her unemployment phase, she applied for other jobs, but was not
having much luck. She did, however, spend quality time with her son, start
an exercise program and become a genuinely happier person. Towards the
end of her much needed vacation, her patience began to wear thin. A health
insurance company had just denied Celeste another job. The flip side of
that rejection was an offer for a higher position than the one she had
applied for. The work was less strenuous. The hours were better and the
pay was nearly doubled. Lucky break? Could have been. It also could have
been God’s method of allowing her quality time with her son and rewarding
her with a wonderful job for her patience.
Powerball: The final lottery ticket is my own and
it is definitely a winner. I had been praying that God would show me how
to be a more effective witness of my faith. I have never been one to walk
around with “I Love Jesus” stamped across my forehead. Yet, I have always
wanted to be able to express my love for God to others. God answered my
prayers through this assignment by allowing me to write a paper on what
I feel is most important. God is most important to me. If I reach only
one person through this paper, I have accomplished my goal. That goal is
to share my belief in the “Too Good” that really is true.
*names changed for confidentiality.