All we need

Darren Pries-Klassen

I have never been a fan of lotteries but this story made me smile. By now you have probably heard of Allen and Violet Large. The elderly couple from Lower Truro, Nova Scotia, recently won $11.25 million in a lottery only to give 98% of their winnings away. Amazing! How many people would be willing to give that much of their new found wealth to friends, family and to so many charities that the list exceeds two pages? Perhaps the reason for their selflessness lies behind Violet’s comment to reporters, "Why spend money when you already have everything you need?”

Did you catch that? She said "everything you need,” not "everything you want.” The difference between "need” and "want” can be blurry and has little to do with what you have or don’t have. It is really about attitude and perspective. When contentment is tied to material things it is a moving target; that which once brought contentment soon fades and we need something bigger, better or newer to be content again.
The key to being a good steward of all that has been entrusted to us lies in finding contentment. It is a truly content person who possesses the intestinal fortitude to give away money like Allen and Violet Large did. If more lottery winners would be like this elderly couple, I might not dislike lotteries so much.

first published in 2010