Patchogue, N.Y. (AP) – A New York charity says it has turned down a share of a $3 million lottery jackpot because accepting the money could send a wrong message to gambling addicts.
The Lighthouse Mission, which helps feed 3,000 hungry Long Island residents a week, had been chosen to share an anonymous donor’s jackpot last month. The donor gave the winning ticket to the True North Community Church, which said it would share the money with other charities.
The mission’s pastor, James Ryan, says he appreciates the offer but had to turn it down because his organization counsels against addictions, including gambling. He did not say what the mission’s share of the prize would have been.
So I was wondering, if you happened to run a church, shelter, or any ministry driven non-profit organization, would you accept the money? Why or why not?
This question has really made the rounds among the blogs I read. I would say that if this were to happen to a church I were serving, I would hope we would reject the gift. How can you teach against the issue of a lottery or gambling and accept the money from it? To me, that would be very hypocritical…and confusing to those around us.
Now…if the gift was given anonomously, then no one would know…but since this was a public gift, I wouldn’t accept it…then again, I’m not sure public gifts are a great idea anyway…something seems unscriptural about it.
if they’d offered it to us (for thrive africa), we’d have taken it. “the wealth of the sinners is laid up for the just”, so… bring it on! the needs are to great, our message too urgent, for us to get wrapped up in the source of the provision. ultimately God is the provider anyway, and we’ll gladly accept it from any source He chooses to use.
I saw this stroy Sunday and it made me think of the joke about the man in a flood praying for Gods help. Someone comes along in a truck, a boat and a helicopter and he refuses all saying he is waiting for God to save him. After he dies in the flood he asks God why he didn’t answer his prayers and save him and God’s reply is I answered you three times and you turned me down. Of course it is wrong to gamble, but if God offers a church the money to do His work with I think you should except it and use it for HIs glory. Do we not say All are Welcome, Anything is Possible and No One is Perfect ? I don’t believe excepting the money condones the lottery. Turning it down shows none believers that we are still as judgmental as they thing we are. Someone said Sunday you can forgive someone with out excussing the behavior they did. I think this is similar.
Would we have even heard about this, if they did accept the money? It was a nice gesture from a church, wanting to share their good fortune. I’m guessing they didn’t need the money badly enough.
I understand both viewpoints. I think we might teach on it and then take it…….not sure.
I agree somewhat with the mission’s pastor- it could send the wrong message to gambling addicts…
but apparently this winner did not have a gambling problem, if she did she would not just be giving the winnings away. The winners heart was in the right place, wanting the money to go to good things… so i don’t know…
As missionaries struggling to get back on the field due to finances, it would be so hard to see that money pass by…
It is a hard decision for sure…
If the church could look at itself like Jesus said, as a hospital for hurting and sick people, would a hospital not take the money? The money in itself is not evil or good, it’s how it’s used that matters. I believe if you’re doing church the way God has in mind, you’ll have people who start coming who gain their income in ways we wouldn’t prefer and they start giving, and we don’t question that. The business man who has some shady practices but claims to love God and has been in the church for years gives, and we take that. The sick and dying don’t care what we endorse or don’t endorse, they need hope and help. We would take it in a heart beat @ C3 (if you need the address to send it just go to http://www.c3orlando.com – we’ll be waiting)!
Tough call… my quick answer is: Take it and use it for good, but I also have to consider that it could set a bad precident with others who might think that playing lotteries is the way to bless the church.
Curious to hear what you might do, Pete.
I don’t know. I’d pray, and ask God what to do.
My first reaction was that they did the right thing, but after reading the other comments I’ve changed my mind! I think they should have taken the money and used it for God’s glory!
you guys mean you wouldn’t accept drug money? come on, you could use it for lots of good. just playin.
the real question is: is this a test? can our values and non-negotiables be bought?
What did Joseph do when he was given all he had been given? Left in charge of Potipher’s house, thrown into prison because of a lie and finally, made ruler of all Egypt…all of this because his brothers sold him into slavery. I believe Joseph’s words were “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.” I would say, accept it.
Pete,
just being brutally honest, we absolutely would accept it. Why? Because we need it badly right now.
I don’t care where it comes from. As long as there aren’t any stipulations attached. God uses bad things for the good all the time.
Bring it on lottery winners, drug movers, and anyone else with cash to throw around.
Zak
This reminds me of your other post about how someone gave you a lottery ticket and everyone got in a TIZZY! This mission obviously could really use the money for an amazing good and I believe they could have taken it and explained it in a way that people would understand. I can’t help but wonder how many extra people might not eat a meal because they didn’t take that. But then again…God can always provide in other ways…but then again…maybe God provided in this way…but then again….
God’s gifts can come in many packages. It is what you do with the gift that matters.
Yes Indeed I would …Why because the money belongs to the Christians anyway….I would use it to move Gods word and to help others.
My Pastor is my boyfriend and we have a food bank and we always need more food to give out, we are running low now. And people always need help with bills and such. I love to give to bless others.We could also use new carpet and money for the youth and children in church….There always seems to be a need.
I feel the dern devil has stolen from Gods people for way to long…it is time to take back what the devil has stole. Maybe we can all get like minded and go to the devils bank vault and get back what is ours.HA!!
Besides we cannot take it with us but we can “Wire it Ahead ” laughs….invest in the kingdom….make heavenly investments before we arrive.
off to work
Blessings
Kymberlyrenee
I agree with Steve Heartsill’s assessment. There is something to be said about not letting the left hand know about what the right hand is doing when it comes to giving.
Recognition causes all kinds of issues from wanting to show favoritism or expecting it to the thoughts on what is ethical. Gifts given in anonymity leave those issues behind.
I am not overlooking the fact that a 3 million anonymous gift wouldn’t create some of its own issues, like – where did this money come from?
Its a hard question because I understand some of the sentiments that other posters have made. I don’t necessarily agree with their train of thought, but I understand the desire to do good with that money.
Peace
Ummm… yeah.
of course. or we could just be really judgmental, legalistic and forget that someone is actually GIVING to charity to fulfill what God has called us to do?
I love anonymity in gift-giving and donations. Humble is the word of the day. The donor was anonymous? Well, sort of. We don’t know his or her name, but we know where the money came from. Right? I guess if the donor had just given it without a word of where it came from this wouldn’t even be news now would it?
My husband leads the programming for a Fantasy Sports website. It’s his job. We are fed by this. I am a stay-at-home mom because of his career. Some think of this as gambling. Some don’t. But we donate to many different organizations because God has made us able through my husband’s job. So should our church turn away our tithes? Should Compassion International? Should WAY-FM radio? Should the missionaries? Hmmm. I think not. His job is legitimate even though some of the programming he does is for games with gambling involved. Yes, some Fantasy Sports are free — but not all.
I think it’s silly. My personal opinion is that this whole thing is just really, really, really silly. Take the money and thank God for it. For goodness sakes!!
heidi reed
It’s a hard call for me, as I subsist on personal deputation/support, and have for three decades. If there were no stipulations, as others have noted I “think” I’d take it. My brother (as yet unsaved) won a lottery several years ago and gave us twenty grand, and I joyfully accepted it.
I think a danger is making dogmatic on the principle that it is profit from gambling. Do we check out every gift that comes in to make sure it wasn’t stock market profit from an industry or business that we don’t think honors God? Gets touchier and touchier
Proverbs 13:22
A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, But the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous.
The Word says that the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous. If someone is paying tithe on stolen merchandice they are selling…God knows what they are doing, He knows the motives of their heart (are they trying to buy their way into heaven?) but what they give can still be used for the Kingdom. If the church is going to take the stance of not accepting ill gotten money, then they are going to have to start inspecting members tax returns, questioning their income, etc. This isn’t even practical.
Romans 8:28
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
Do all things work together for good?? (Or only the things we approve of??)
It reminds me of the story of the guy who was in a flood. He stayed in his house as long as he could. He ended up on the roof. He prayed that God would save him. A guy came along in a boat and offered him a ride, he turned it down because he was waiting for God. The waters rose higher…he ends up standing on his chimney with the water still rising. A helocopter comes to rescue him, he refuses their help also….all the while praying for God to save him. He ends up dying. When he gets to heaven, he asks God, “Why didn’t you save me?” God says, I sent a boat and I sent a helocopter.
We always want to wrap our ideas about how God works, how God provides, around our preception of God and our perception of truth. Meanwhile, God is trying tying to give us 3 million dollars.
I would accept the money and work very dilligently to do God’s Will with it.
A gift’s a gift, just that a gift. When you give a gift you should not question it’s use (if it’s truly a gift). Same as a gift of lotto money to a church…It’s still money and the giver obviously doesn’t have to validate it’s source. Rom. 8:28 says ALL things (even winning the lottery) work together for good…
Now let’s see about getting a stab at the $136mil power ball money this week. The tithe on that would be great for God’s work.
I’m just thinking out loud here. After yesterday’s news regarding the stock market I’m reminded that almost every kind of investing is a gamble.
Do you know of any church that won’t accept money that has been invested in the stock market?
If you accept a donation from say “Gordon Geko” or Enron, where the money was not made in the most ethical manor, what’s the difference. If you ask me, half of the money in this country has blood on it or is dirty some how or another. I believe this is why the bible talkes about greed more than say drunking too much wine. Greed is the root of all evil.
Thank you, Pete. Ironically, “Wall Street” was on this morning.
Why would you not accept it? If your mission is to help feed the hungry and you need the money to do that why would you let those people suffer for your own beliefs. Which sin would be considered the worse of the two? The person who gave money to the church from legal means, albeit a form of gambling, or the pastor who let other’s go hungry to make a point by not accepting it. Isn’t it up to God to pass judgement and not us? I say the pastor is wrong.
Yes, we would accept it and have..several years ago, a member of our church shared a tithe off the top of a million dollar lottery ticket.
I would defy anyone to find “clean” money anywhere. We have developed,preserved, and enforced so many doctrinal no-no’s that every dime hitting the collection plate has been squeezed at some point by a sinner or two.
My opinion is a gift is a gift is a gift. The money was not stolen, it was not laundered, it simply was won through the lottery. The process of restoration is not neat and tidy either.
It’s a hard call! I see the pastors point, he doesn’t want to encourage gambling and that’s completely understandable. Why does the church accept tythes, then? Who knows where all the money from individuals has come from. Maybe they won it in a poker game. Maybe they sold drugs to get it.
If Oprah gave you money would you use it? If the mob gave you money would you use it? If if if if if if…our life is always going to be ifs…there will always be needs.
We are supposed to take our burdens and lay them at the cross. So I think I’d have to lay it at the cross and pray…and right now….all I really can think of is how many people that would have helped.
um….I think we’d definitely take it. I ditto the verse that Alece used up at the top.
God can use whatever means necessary to provide for His people.
I agree whole heartedly with Beverly’s story/example. If they really want to use the point, take the money and set up a fund for helping those with gambling addictions seek treatment. Letting others go hungry is not going to fix the problem of addiction in another’s house.
This is an extreme example, I realize, but it’s just to play another side… if you have people in your church who struggle with compulsive over eating do you not have church dinners anymore in order to not put them into temptation? I just think we have to look at things logically, non judgementally and get back to the basics… like feeding the poor.
sara
http://gitzengirl.blogspot.com
investing (or ‘playin’) in the stock market is huge where we currently are – as are drugs and gambling. it’s some of why I refer to people as the “seen and unseen”.. unless you’re going to start requiring proof of income and source of income – you probably already are.
The Lighthouse mission acted with propriety because the mission’s goals take precedence. Pastor Ryan is clearly a spiritual man.
The visible Church should not rely on the natural, if she wished to produce spiritual fruit. Isn’t this the problem?
“Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy. Leviticus 19:2
This is how revivals start and miracles bring fresh hope to the land.
I would absolutely take the money and use in in God’s kingdom. The “gambler’s” heart
was in the right place and who are we to judge? Matthew 7:3
Take it.
Does any church know exactly where their funds/tithes come from?
It could come from a bartender, it could come from a stripper, it could come from a salesman, it could come from an engineer, it could come from a secret lottery winner, it could come from a variety of sources. I think unless the money is coming from a “known” illegal source, Christ would not disapprove of using the funds for doing what he has called us to do as a Church and as his Followers.
I wonder who Christ is smiling on right now…the person who with a loving heart was donating the money for a greater cause or the minister who rejected the funds?
i’ll come with a deposit slip filled out.
I also agree that I would take the money. But then do God’s work with it. Use some of it to support those that are trying to overcome their gambling addictions and the rest of it to help the others my church or mission is there to help.
But God led this person to donate it here so I’m willing to accept it and continue to do His work with it.
COME ON PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!! We ALL gamble…every single day of our lives in one fashion or another. Raffle tickets, THE STOCK MARKET, your 401K, your savings!! It’s all a gamble….and MONEY was given to us by God…. it’s ALL HIS!!! So if He gives you a means to get it (and it’s not stolen or some other way that someone on here will come up with, of getting it) then I say THANK YOU LORD!! Especially when you’re doing GOOD with it!!
I’m FOR IT!! Then again, I’m the one who started the whole lottery thing on here in the first place, hu PSquared!!?!!
BTW, pretty proud of it…. God gave me that ability.
This is tough because you can be wrong either way.
Being that it is the lottery and not convential gambling (is there such?) I say take it.
From time to time I buy a ticket for the fun of it. It does not put me back and nor am I addicted to it.
If it came froma situation like that, hey, take the cash and do something amazing with it.
I would sure hope my church and several others would take my gift if I were to win.
Hey we are in NY…we will take it!!
Once it became the lucky ticket owners, would it really be wrong to except it from the INDIVIDUAL. What if the winner took the money and invested or just let it grow on interest and 3 years later decided to share his wealth, is that different? I don’t think that we investigate how every large sum donation was earned. Nor should we in my opinion.
I think what it really comes down to is when the gentleman representing the ministry said that their ministry wouldn’t accept the gift because they help people recover from addictions, one of them specifically gambling.
I don’t think the issue is necessarily is the money good or evil, but will the money cause good or evil?
I think they were wise to decline because choosing to stay true to their teachings will bless them and give them credibility with their ministry towards addicts.
yah – i’d take it. i understand both sides… but i lean toward the wealth of the wicked laid up for the righteous… side of the argument.
My grandfather who was a minister used to say, “It’s been in the devil’s hands too long, it’s time to put it in God’s!”
So, my thoughts are pretty simple……Take it! We spend too much time worried about something like this. In reality we have many people in our churches that get their income from some very “shady” forms of doing business. (I’ve seen and known a few!) They tithe, and we accept without asking. Why are we asking here? I truly ascribe to what Joseph says in Gen 50:20, what we intend for bad, God can use for good. I think it’s not where the money comes from, but what we do, or allow God to do with it, that matters.
You know what would be even better than taking the money would be if instead of buying lottery tickets people would just give that money to the church or their favorite faith-based nonprofit. That would solve a whole lot of problems.
Honestly, I have known of some churches where getting a 3 million dollar donation from any source might cause more problems than not getting the donation at all.
my church will take the money. we will use it to reach people for Jesus! Send it our way!
crazy though it may sound, i know i would not have a genuine peace about receiving the money.
Every day churches and other organizations doing great work on behalf of God accept tithes and offerings – never once questioning where those funds come from. Who’s to say that someone who makes a donation works for a tobacco company or a beer distributor or some other business that might be difficult for you to support. While I choose not to give my money to those types of organizations, I would have no problem accepting funds from them if it meant I could share the gospel with more people. I work for a homeless mission. I’m not sure what the executive decision would be around here, but if it were up to me to decide, I’d say take it. There are so many people who are in need and we could most definitely put that money to good use on behalf of the Lord.
Once again, the Surratt family sums up in one sentence what the rest of us spend paragraphs trying to explain.
@Chris Surratt, I got a feeling I would like your grandfather!
As a pastor I can say emphatically, YES! We will accept that donation and any other that is freely given.
Totally. All things are permissible. Send these guys my way.
I got 6 to 1 odds that most churches would accept it!
money matters. and if it goes against the values of your church or your organization then I say good for you for sticking by something you stand for even in the face of wealth. Making value based decisions is always the best way, money made decisions can get cloudy, very very cloudy and eventually you could get bought. That’s my opinion.
ps. it clearly wasn’t a tithe, it was a donation from something very specific. With knowledge comes responsibility.
Bad money can be used for good things. What if this person were a huge sinner and this money changed his life and allowed him to see the light? Would it then be “worthy” money? It seems to me that rejecting this money is robbing a man of what could be his first generous gesture, ever. To me, it is rejecting a person and their generosity and not rejecting the money or their way of life. It is portraying that the church is better than this person who is looking for an outlet to do good. Rejecting the exact people who are in most need of God by setting a standard for who is “worthy” is a HUGE injustice!
Please. You can always donate anonymously. If God told that person to give x amount to wherever, then there is always a way.
This is in response to the argument that it should have been given anonymously — So… awhile back I saw a video on Pete’s blog about mission work they were doing. He told us all about it very publicly and that the church was giving to those people. Does that make his giving any less? Should he have been doing it anonymously or is that ok since he’s a preacher and not a gambler?
I’m not trying to be argumentative, but I don’t understand why we as a society feel able to judge this person’s heart. Maybe God put on his heart to give the winnings publicly ao he’d give another person the same idea to give. I just think sometimes we look too hard to find what people are doing wrong instead of giving the benefit of the doubt that they’re trying really hard to do something right.
Weird. I don’t see way it would matter if it was Joe Blow who won the lottery or Bill Gates who built a computer empire. It’s was donated to a charity, if they didn’t need additional funds, why call it a charity. I find this aggravating.
On second thought after reading the whole post again and speaking with my wife at the diner table. I now agree that they were within their values to turn the money away. Jamie explained the difference between leadership and follow-ship. I know follow-ship is not a word, but here it should be. Leading is not following. If their ministry is working to rehabilitate people with addictions including gambling, taking donations from gambling money would be contrary to their values.
Gambling is not playing the stock market. That is risk management. Leadership has to set a structure that they work within. That includes making tough decisions. Apparently none of us know how easy or hard the decision was for this church to make. I would think though with conviction and prayer if was probably pretty easy to make.
Then to understand why this became news, or public knowledge is the other half of the story and question. And a whole other debate. Thanks for posting this question, the deeper you look and think about it the clearer it becomes.
I hesitate to join the conversation here, because for me this is not hypothetical. I’m one of the pastor of True North Community Church that received the lottery ticket donation. Speaking honestly, there is always more to the story than what is at face value and more details than can be covered. We did wrestle with should we accept or not. Upon deciding to accept, we have said numerous times that we do not endorse gambling. This was accepting a donation. We did not gamble. As a staff, we all decided to give the first year away completely to other charities & organizations (it’s all accounted for so please no requests). It is the heart of our lead pastor & our staff to high light another organization in all this: Love46, who are fighting child sex trafficking in south east asia (check them out at http://www.love146.org) They will also be receiving money every year that we receive a check.
We have received so many hate emails & phone calls from those who feel they must voice their opinions that we are wrong, evil, don’t know our Bibles, etc… It’s sad to see and experience all the judgmentalism of the church first hand. Honestly, we just want to move on, let others be blessed & let God get all the glory.
As far as the Lighthouse Mission, we know them and still support them. We respect their decision to decline the money and harbor no ill feelings. I pray that God continues to use them here in out community.
BTW it’s nice to read some comments that are encouraging and honest.
It saddens me to think about all the people that COULD have been helped by this donation…in my opinion this is an example of legalism at it’s finest.
I know my church would have accepted the donation.
Just another example of a “Christian” organization making a judgement call. I’m with you Zak!
take it! no witty reply here. just take the cash!
I respect anyone who stands for their beliefs. As for me, I serve at a church in Vegas and God gives us money every weekend from the gambling industry. I do believe it all belongs to God anyway.
My husband and I are in full time Christian service…we trust the Lord daily to give us what we need to share His good news. Many..many questions come up when I think about all of this…Does everyone who gives to our ministry get their money completely ethically…I don’t know and I do not want to be in the business of investigating where all the money comes from. Do some donors work for companies that support things we do not agree with..maybe?? I do not have time to look at the money trail…we want to lead others to Jesus! But then you have the flip side…if I knew that someone wanted to give us a donation and I knew that they cheated many out of money through unethical means..maybe giving eases their conscience a little..I do not think personally I could take the money. So where do we draw the line? I’m not sure but it definitely has me thinking!
I love this blog.
I bet if we could wager how many folks agree or disagress we could start setting the over/under and parlay this into even a better conversation. I’m just saying!! Take the money and feed the poor , clothe the homeless and let God decide if someone did something nice for mankind. Lets get in the game and stop watching fromt he cheap seats.
for more on this…http://www.neueministry.com/2008/09/does-it-matter-where-the-money-comes-from/
Accept the money. Make a statement against gambling which includes something about God’s redemptive power. Redeem the money. By redeem the money, I mean, put it to good use. Hello people, isn’t that what God is about? Taking the bad and making it good so He can be glorified in it?
I’ve worked on boards and committees for non-profits and have spent a few years raising money for non-profits. You don’t turn your nose at money. Money means more services and more people can be reached. We should never be so prideful as to turn away money.
I would take a drug dealer’s money and have 100 people praying for that drug dealer to get saved and to stop dealing drugs. 1 shall put 1,000 to flight, 2 shall put 10,000 – what would 100 people praying for this person do? Take the money. Put it to good use. Pray them into the Kingdom.
I think the money for this organization needs to come from the church, and not from the gambling industry. If every Christian in the usa will give their tithe (10% or more) and offerings, every church in this country will have more than enough to do everithing they need to do and not depend on the world for doing Gods will. I think this is a test for a lukewarm church, beceause many people knowing where the money comes from, they are saying that they will aceept it. I stand with Pastor Ryan in his decision, and i believe when you honor God, God will honor you. Lighthouse mission will receive more than this.
I believe Pastor James Ryan made the correct choice not to take the money. Many people have given good examples as to why he should have taken it and not been so called blind to GOD’s offer, but what they fail to realize is there are no short cuts to following the rules of the Bible. You cannot pick and choose based on the situation- if gambling is stated to be a sin as it is in the Bible then it must not be accepted, period. He made the right choice and is a true follower of GOD. If he had not refused the money, like someone else said- we would not have known about this situation, but now that many people know I don’t doubt he will be offered money from people who have earned it not gambled to win it. It was his test and GOD shall reward him plenty… GOD Bless