Powerball

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:16-19 (NIV)

My coworkers and I hurried to complete unfinished work tonight. We left our desks unusually clean and neat. We might not be at work tomorrow and if others come behind us to take on our tasks, they should be able to find everything. We left with the feeling that we do in summer when a hurricane is bearing down upon our state. Will we or won’t we get the call to stay home tomorrow? Or when a flu epidemic sweeps our community. Will we wake up in the morning with its symptoms as well? But, it is not August, nor are any of us sick. Instead, we left with the idea that we might be in the State Capital tomorrow claiming our winning prize. Florida hosts its first Powerball drawing this evening, and my coworkers were excited about the chance to win their fortune. In fact, though I am not sure how, the decision was made to all chip in and purchase three chances together. I don’t usually gamble, but agreed. For the good of office morale. For an opportunity to do something with the group. For a few minutes to dream of hitting the big one. I scavenged in my car for enough change to pay what Dave Ramsey calls a tax on the poor. When I turned in my $2.00, I teased my coworkers that they should have left me out. After all, I NEVER win anything and would bring them bad luck. Then, I added, “You know, it will never be enough.” That was the truth in more ways than one. A million dollars divided by three will not leave much to play with. After giving Uncle Sam his share, paying off my debts and oldest son’s student loans, giving to my church and some organizations who helped my children in time of need, I might have enough left to take a vacation or buy a horse trailer. Maybe I could put in a swimming pool. But, there wouldn’t be enough to buy new cars all around or quit my job even though I would be tempted to do as a co worker suggested and throw my blackberry phone into the Gulf. But, what I really meant was that it wouldn’t be enough to fill that longing in any of our hearts. The one that French philosopher, Blaise Pascal, wrote about when he said, “What else does this craving, and this helplessness, proclaim but that there was once in man a true happiness, of which all that now remains is the empty print and trace? This he tries in vain to fill with everything around him, seeking in things that are not there the help he cannot find in those that are, though none can help, since this infinite abyss can be filled only with an infinite and immutable object; in other words by God himself.” Pascal, a mathematician who could easily calculate the long shot of winning Powerball knew where true wealth can only be found.