The lottery is a way to select who will get something, like tickets for an event. Students were chosen by lottery, since demand for the program was high. A lottery is a game in which people pay money to be given prizes, such as a chance to win a prize of cash. People can also use lotteries to choose housing units or kindergarten placements. The first European lotteries with money prizes appeared in 15th-century Burgundy and Flanders, where towns tried to raise funds for town fortifications or to help the poor. Francis I of France approved the establishment of public lotteries in several cities between 1520 and 1539.
The big message that lotteries are trying to send is that even if you don’t win, you still did your civic duty and helped the state, or children, or whatever by buying a ticket. That’s the same kind of message that sports betting is relying on, and it’s false.
The Bible teaches that we should earn our wealth by hard work, not through gambling. Lotteries entice people to spend money they might have earned by working hard, and they refocus the player’s mind on the fleeting riches of this world rather than the eternal rewards of the next. The proverb warns that “Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth” (Proverbs 10:4). That’s why it’s important for Christians to oppose lottery legislation and to encourage their friends and neighbors not to participate in these games.