A Lesson From King David in Stewardship
Read Time / 2 Minutes
Theme / Generosity
Blog 03.23.2024 // More Money, Same Problem
You’re more likely to get hit by lightning than win the jackpot.
The odds of winning the lottery are discouraging at best. However, poor odds didn’t stop Han Solo from flying the Millennium Falcon through an asteroid field, so why would it stop someone from buying a ticket, believing they’d get lucky? In fact, lottery players have become creative. Hoping to increase their odds of getting rich overnight, optimistic Americans jump into office ticket pools, joining finances with fellow colleagues to purchase multiple tickets – if they win, they split the reward.
At xAd (a marketing company), Chad Hickey and Monica Ho bought tickets for their office telling the team “if we win, half the winnings will go to charities of our choice and the other half of the winnings will be divided amongst all of us.”
Sounds good, right? Well, that is, until someone actually wins. Office pools can quickly go wrong. ABC News reported on a group of California colleagues who hit the $315 Million jackpot. They were quickly “sued by four coworkers that claimed they had oral agreements to be part of the office pool.” A construction worker from New Jersey bought the lottery tickets for his office pool, and he hit the $38 Million Jackpot. However, he claimed the proceeds as his alone. Honestly, I’d be tempted to do the same. And, as you might have imagined, he was sued.
Like buying lottery tickets with a group and splitting the spoils, many things sound like a good idea, but, once the rubber meets the road, the voice of temptation can take us off course.
King David had something much greater than any jackpot winnings. He had a promise from God. In 2 Samuel 11: 15-16, the Lord vowed, “… my love will never be taken away from [you].. Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.” As you might imagined, David responded in awe with words of gratitude.
But, the series of events that happen next left me astounded. Here it goes:
David subdued the Philistines and took control of their mother city, Metheg-ammah. Sounds easy, huh? Then, he conquered the Moabites… no big deal. And, if that wasn’t enough, the son of Jesse defeated Hadadezer, King of Zobah. The Arameans came to help Hadadzer, but David struck down twenty-two thousand of them… yeah, yeah, me too.
David was seeing success and victory left and right. Like Klay Thompson scoring 37 points in less than 12 minutes, the little shepherd boy, who was now King, was unstoppable. “The Lord gave David victory wherever he went (2 Samuel 8:6a).“
I imagine these incredible feats may have left someone feeling invincible. Scripture shares David was brought articles of silver, gold, and bronze, and he was accumulating precious metals from his conquests. Think of the lure of what to do with the plunder. Should David store the precious metals in the palace for a rainy day and an ego boast? How about trading for more chariots to build up his army? David did neither. 2 Samuel 8:11a, reveals David’s character:
“King David dedicated these articles to the Lord, as he had done with the silver and gold from all the nations he had subdued.”
Many fantasize of what good we would do if we had more success, more opportunities, or hit the jackpot. But, I’m left with this unresolved question in my heart:
If the Lord gave me victory wherever I went, how would I use His blessings?
Ryan De Amicis
Wealth Advisor
408.758.6413
ryan@christianwm.com
