Bud Post was born in Erie, Pennsylvania, in 1940. His mother died when he was age eight and his father sent him to an orphanage soon after. He never had much of a job and served 28 days in jail for writing hot checks. His life’s savings was a whopping $2.46.
And then he won the lottery in 1988 – $16.2 million. But things did not end well. Bud’s brother tried to kill him for his inheritance. An ex-girlfriend successfully sued him for a share of his winnings. He was married seven times. By the end of his life, he was living on food stamps and was $1 million in debt.
You may have heard similar stories. It’s called the “lottery syndrome.” No matter how much money a person wins, the results are often the same – misery, depression, and even suicide.
The wealthiest man alive said this: “I said to myself, ‘Come now, I will test you with pleasures to find out what is good.’ But that also proved to be meaningless” (Ecclesiastes 2:1).
Here’s the hard truth about addiction. Having more of what does not satisfy will not satisfy.
Recovery Step: Quit looking for fulfillment in all the wrong places.
