Lottery is a form of gambling where you pay to play for a chance to win money. It is the most popular way to gamble in America and contributes billions of dollars annually to state coffers. While many people play for fun, others believe that it is their answer to a better life. However, the odds of winning are very low, so it’s important to understand how lottery works before playing.
The idea of casting lots to determine ownership and distribution of property is ancient. It was practiced in the Roman Empire—Nero was a fan—and it is documented throughout the Bible, including the instructions to Moses for taking a census of Israel and dividing land by lot. It was even a popular dinner entertainment during Saturnalia celebrations. Guests would receive pieces of paper with symbols on them and toward the end of the evening a drawing would be held for prizes that the guests took home with them.
In the American colonies, early lotteries were fueled by exigency and an aversion to taxation. They became commonplace and funded everything from public buildings to civil defense. Harvard, Yale and Princeton were financed by them; so was the Continental Congress’s effort to fund the Revolutionary War. But, despite the moral ambiguity of lotteries, they were also frequently tangled up with the slave trade—as was George Washington’s involvement in a Virginia lottery that featured human beings as prizes and Denmark Vesey’s purchase of his own freedom from a lottery ticket.
The unfolding of events in this short story reveal the hypocrisy and evil nature of humans. They greeted one another and exchanged bits of gossip while manhandling each other without a flinch of pity. This reflects the general way that oppressive norms and cultures justify their mistreatment of members of other societies.
While it is true that the lottery lures people into a false hope that winning will solve their problems, it’s also important to remember that the biblical command against covetousness (Exodus 20:17) applies just as much to money as it does to possessions. God knows that coveting will never bring happiness, but he also knows that it can be a trap that ensnares even the most well-intentioned among us.
The biggest thing to keep in mind when thinking about the lottery is that there’s no such thing as a “billion dollar jackpot.” Instead, lottery money is actually invested into an annuity over 30 years. So, when the lottery advertises a jackpot of $1.58 billion, that’s not literally sitting in a vault waiting to be handed over to the next winner. You’ll get your first payment when you win, and then 29 annual payments that increase each year by a percentage. If you die before all of the payments are made, the remaining balance becomes part of your estate. Essentially, it’s the opposite of a lump sum. You can’t just grab a billion dollars and walk away, but it’s still a very big deal to a lot of people.