Facing Trials

Imagine the challenges and tribulations that the winner of the 1.9 billion dollar PowerBall faces.

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings. My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing. If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you. But ask in faith, never doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind; for the doubter, being double-minded and unstable in every way, must not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Let the believer who is lowly boast in being raised up, and the rich in being brought low, because the rich will disappear like a flower in the field. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the field; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. It is the same way with the rich; in the midst of a busy life, they will wither away. Blessed is anyone who endures temptation. Such a one has stood the test and will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. No one, when tempted, should say, "I am being tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil and he himself tempts no one. But one is tempted by one's own desire, being lured and enticed by it; then, when that desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and that sin, when it is fully grown, gives birth to death. -  James 1:1-15

According to James, being rich can be a real challenge.

He focuses on the fate of the rich, who, he says, will wither away and die like flowers in the field.

There is temptation in becoming rich, as anyone who bought a ticket to the recent PowerBall Lottery knows, and even greater temptation when one wins.

So many lives were ruined by winning.  

Of course, who would turn down the chance to try for oneself?

The temptation is so great.  You have to try, right?

If you are planning on becoming suddenly rich, you need to think abut it beforehand, plan it out in detail.

Everything you buy will either require money to maintain, like a house and car or boat, or it will use up the money and leave you with only memories, like a trip into outer space on one of Elon Musk's rockets.

So, in the end, you may wind up in debt or broke.

Maybe James is right.

Perhaps the thing to do is avoid the problem all together, or plan to use the money to support a nonprofit (obvious plug).

Either way, good luck.

More to come...