Feeling good about not winning the Powerball Lottery

Like some of you, I used a gift I received over Christmas to buy a few Powerball Lottery tickets when the jackpot was 1.3 Billion Dollars.

After taxes - about $900,000,000.00

Insane amounts of money.  Over thirty years' time that is $30,000,000 a year.  Which is $82,000 a day for 30 years (or approximately $3500 a second for thirty years).

And no, you cannot possibly spend $3500 a second.

Basically this is an inconceivable amount of money.  As Forest Gump would say, "They have more money than God."

Which is precisely why I shouldn't win.

You see, life is a very intricate balance of the things that I can control versus cannot control.  My happiness is directly related to how I need to work with other people (as much as I'd like to think it is about getting my way).  Being in relationship is what leads to happiness if we do it right.  Removing myself from needing others (a boss, coworkers, people in my life that tell me the truth) is an attempt to remove myself from humanity.

Sometimes we think that the best life possible would be filled with money - one in which we always get our way.

Nobody wants to help us?  Give them money.

Don't feel like doing something?  Pay someone else to do it.

No one is listening to me?  Pay them to care.

The problem is that the opposite is true.  We are most happy when we are interdependent - not independent.  As much as it is a pain sometimes - working with people in life is much more rewarding than getting what we want every time.  If we always got our way then life is a prostitute - yes, we had a good time, but I made it happen with money.  This is a hollow life.

It is precisely why William Young, author of the Shack gave most of his money away.  When his book became so famous that he was a millionaire many times over, he made the wise choice to give large portions of it away because money changes you.

So don't feel bad that you lost the lottery.  Count yourself lucky that you got up this morning and had something to live for.  And a God to depend on who can make you happy with no strings attached.