Lottery Winners
You cannot serve both God and money. -Jesus Christ
I was stunned to learn that New York now has support groups for lottery winners. Apparently, for some people, winning the lottery causes more problems than it solves! Those who hit the jackpot have to deal with all sorts of situations they're not prepared for. Suddenly they have friends they never knew they had; they have to be responsible for managing the money, create productive free time after they quit their job, deal with ex-spouses who want a cut, hire bodyguards to protect their kids from kidnaping at day care, and on and on. Some lottery winners spend it all on shoes, others fight with their relatives, others turn to addictions and, sadly, some commit suicide. In many cases, the windfall does not end the recipients' problems; it just substitutes new ones for the old.
What these lottery winners really need is not the money, but the consciousness to handle it. The ego tells us, "If I just had this brass ring from the outside world, I would be happy." But because we are spiritual beings, it is the inside world that determines our happiness.
I worked in a store that was losing money because the owner had a negative and irresponsible attitude. He asked for a large capital loan from a local entrepreneur, who came to me for a reference. I had to tell him the truth. While the owner blamed his failure on every external circumstance, the source of his problems was his own way of thinking. He could have received millions of dollars of capital, but it would have all gone out of the same consciousness hole that his original money had slipped out of. What the owner needed was not more money, but more wisdom.
Do not pray for a particular external event; pray for the consciousness to sustain the quality of experience you desire. Then you will not only attract your good-you will be able to enjoy it.
Show me how to use Your gifts wisely. Let me know who I am, that I may manifest real success.
My good flows to me effortlessly by right of my divine thoughts.
