Past Commentary by a Common Terry
My lucky day!
March 1, 2026
I am very excited! And I should be. Anyone who might experience what just happened to me...well, they’d be ecstatic beyond words and imagination.
I received this text a few minutes ago, before I began writing:
CONGRATULATION I’m JERRY HEATH, the winner of the $44.3 million dollars Golden Lantern California State Lottery on August 19, 2024. I’m blessed to have this opportunity and want to pay it forward. As a gesture of goodwill, I’m donating One Million dollars to individuals I’ve randomly selected, and you’re one of them, chosen through a random process. I believe this is a blessing from God’s grace. Kindly text my agent with your claimant code for confirmation and delivery of your winning Agent ABBOT Number: +1 (###) ### - #### Claimant code: YiMD$ GodBlessAmerica Text message this number +1 (###) ### - ####
What a deal! Who woulda thought I’d be so lucky to be randomly chosen to receive a million bucks?! That can buy a lot of tuna and hamburger meat, not to mention getting the tailgate fixed on Mean Joe (my truck). And no more generic breakfast cereal for me! Starting soon (just as soon as the funds are safely in my bank account), I think I’ll buy the name-brand stuff. A million bucks! Life is gonna be so good.
And I’m not trying to be rude by not including the phone number above. I really don’t want anybody swooping in and conning me out of my million.
If only....
People have chased the possible reality of riches since the notion of currency was invented. For some, it becomes their world. For many, it is elusive at best, and all-consuming at worst. There are always hopes for the quick fix, the lottery win, the unexpected inheritance, maybe the high-dollar lawsuit. Something. Anything. Just get the money. The problem is that the happiness and reward of money is fleeting and the potential damage can be worse than the gain, especially if money becomes god.
From the musings of the Teacher in the book of Ecclesiastes: He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity. (Ecclesiastes 5:10)
The Christian’s happiness should not be first built on what this world offers, which is something that will ultimately not last. The believer’s contentment is to come from above, not from what resides beneath the clouds.
You and I have indeed received a message, but it is not random. It is God designed, written, and driven by His love. He is the God Who “so loved” and the God Who “gave His only Son.” He is the God Who offers “eternal life.” No con. No scam. No checking with the Better Business Bureau. He’s real. He’s legit. He has “...bestowed His riches on all who call on Him.” (Romans 10:12)
The “riches” of the world, according to Jesus in the Parable of the Sower, will choke faith. Jesus said the one who assumes to get the full benefit of what he has earned is a fool because the day of his death can come at any time.
Instead, we have riches that cannot be depleted, diminished, or robbed from us. Paul told the Corinthians in his second letter to them that Christ became poor so that we might “...become rich.” (II Cor. 8:9) God wants us to be rich, but to be “...rich in good works.” (I Timothy 6:18)
Yeah, I know: easy to write, easy to say, hard to do. Life takes money. And quite a bit of it. God provides us with the means to earn money and use it to take care of the needs of life. He asks us to share what we have with those who are much less fortunate and in serious need.
It’s not the amount, it’s the heart. It’s the poor widow at the Temple, who gave more with her two coins than every rich person there.
I guess I won’t call that number and see how to get my million. But if I change my mind, I think I’ll use your phone. You know, just to be safe.
I received this text a few minutes ago, before I began writing:
CONGRATULATION I’m JERRY HEATH, the winner of the $44.3 million dollars Golden Lantern California State Lottery on August 19, 2024. I’m blessed to have this opportunity and want to pay it forward. As a gesture of goodwill, I’m donating One Million dollars to individuals I’ve randomly selected, and you’re one of them, chosen through a random process. I believe this is a blessing from God’s grace. Kindly text my agent with your claimant code for confirmation and delivery of your winning Agent ABBOT Number: +1 (###) ### - #### Claimant code: YiMD$ GodBlessAmerica Text message this number +1 (###) ### - ####
What a deal! Who woulda thought I’d be so lucky to be randomly chosen to receive a million bucks?! That can buy a lot of tuna and hamburger meat, not to mention getting the tailgate fixed on Mean Joe (my truck). And no more generic breakfast cereal for me! Starting soon (just as soon as the funds are safely in my bank account), I think I’ll buy the name-brand stuff. A million bucks! Life is gonna be so good.
And I’m not trying to be rude by not including the phone number above. I really don’t want anybody swooping in and conning me out of my million.
If only....
People have chased the possible reality of riches since the notion of currency was invented. For some, it becomes their world. For many, it is elusive at best, and all-consuming at worst. There are always hopes for the quick fix, the lottery win, the unexpected inheritance, maybe the high-dollar lawsuit. Something. Anything. Just get the money. The problem is that the happiness and reward of money is fleeting and the potential damage can be worse than the gain, especially if money becomes god.
From the musings of the Teacher in the book of Ecclesiastes: He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity. (Ecclesiastes 5:10)
The Christian’s happiness should not be first built on what this world offers, which is something that will ultimately not last. The believer’s contentment is to come from above, not from what resides beneath the clouds.
You and I have indeed received a message, but it is not random. It is God designed, written, and driven by His love. He is the God Who “so loved” and the God Who “gave His only Son.” He is the God Who offers “eternal life.” No con. No scam. No checking with the Better Business Bureau. He’s real. He’s legit. He has “...bestowed His riches on all who call on Him.” (Romans 10:12)
The “riches” of the world, according to Jesus in the Parable of the Sower, will choke faith. Jesus said the one who assumes to get the full benefit of what he has earned is a fool because the day of his death can come at any time.
Instead, we have riches that cannot be depleted, diminished, or robbed from us. Paul told the Corinthians in his second letter to them that Christ became poor so that we might “...become rich.” (II Cor. 8:9) God wants us to be rich, but to be “...rich in good works.” (I Timothy 6:18)
Yeah, I know: easy to write, easy to say, hard to do. Life takes money. And quite a bit of it. God provides us with the means to earn money and use it to take care of the needs of life. He asks us to share what we have with those who are much less fortunate and in serious need.
It’s not the amount, it’s the heart. It’s the poor widow at the Temple, who gave more with her two coins than every rich person there.
I guess I won’t call that number and see how to get my million. But if I change my mind, I think I’ll use your phone. You know, just to be safe.