Winning Words 1/23/13
“The poor get poorer by acting rich, and the rich get richer by acting poor.”  (Seen on a plaque)  Have you ever said, “If I win the lottery….?”  I’ve read that the odds of winning the Powerball Lottery are about the same as being killed by a falling coconut.  And yet millions of people, many of them poor, take the chance at becoming rich.  Ask yourself today what it means to be rich, and what does it mean to be poor?    ;-)  Jack

 FROM FLORIANA NORM:  REALLY LIKE THAT JACK:  TRUE////FROM JACK:  The ones I really feel sorry for are those who are trapped in poverty, through no fault of their own.  I wonder about the statement in the Bible..."The poor will always be with you."

 FROM MICHIZONA RAY:  In yesterday's WW, I mentioned the "fishes and loaves" parable. It seems to apply here as well. It seems to me that "rich" takes the scraps of one's talents and confidently asks blessings upon them as (s)he ventures out to feed and share the same to the multitudes. This is rich in spirit. A poverty of spirit sees only the scraps and the insufficiency. If one sees that there "isn't enough", one will likely keep it for oneself. It just doesn't seem that there can be any further blessing upon this manner of poverty, for this kind of poverty is the fruit of the Spirit of Poverty. I often wonder how those who have known only poverty or some of its other fruits, like abuse, have climbed out of it and left it behind them. It can only be by the rich Spirit of Grace, as I see it.////JACK:  The plight of many of the poor remind me of the Greek myth of Sisyphus.  Even though some might not know the story, they continue to live it.

 FROM HONEST JOHN:  I am rich...I have no real envy of the wealthy...////JACK:  When I was growing up, there was an expression, "That's rich."  What does it mean?  Sarcasm?  Irony?  Laughable?  When "rich" is applied to your life, I know that you are not necessarily referring to material wealth.

 FROM WALMART REV:  That's a very reflective thought . . . hadn't heard it before . . . I'll think on that for awhile today . . . It goes with my comments on "contentment" this morning.  Say- I enjoyed seeing your blog on Facebook this morning! Nice!!////JACK:  Winning Words usually cause me to "reflect."  It's good for all of us to pause at times for "reflection."  From the play, "A Raisin in the Sun," there's a line: "Never be afraid to sit awhile and think."   WW now appears daily in West Bloomfield Patch.com.

 FROM OUTHOUSE JUDY:  There are many who use the system-both rich and poor.  The truly poor will always be with us...it's Biblical.  The ones who use all their money, and that of their families to try to become "rich" through gambling on either the lottery or the casino's are to be pitied.  The ones who really try but are stuck in the system are who I feel the most pity.  And of course, the poor in any country who are truly poor.  Riches are supposed "to be stored up in Heaven".  Those who are able to do that are the richest.////JACK:  I'm sure you've heard the expression, "poor mouth."   Phil Mickelson, the pro golfer, said yesterday that he may have move away from California, because his taxes are too high.  Could that be an example of poor mouth?  Re..."the poor will always be with you."  Could that mean that there will always be situations where those who "have" will have to to respond to the needs of those who "have not?"

 FROM TRIHARDER:  I say it all the time -- but I NEVER buy a ticket (unless my office does).   I also think about the odds of winning  -- as you note, usually greater than getting hit by lightning; certainly greater than getting killed in a random shooting.  So, I always say "be careful for wishing for those long odds to happen.////JACK:  In the lottery, the winner's winnings come at the expense of those who lose.  Am I being too philosophical?////TH:  There is an entertainment value, too, I'm guessing, in buying those tickets and in the fantasy of thought in the exceptionally unlikely event that we hold a winning ticket.  There is also a benefit to the public in that there is a pool of resources that serve the government that sponsors the lottery.  But the danger is that many people that can't afford the money spend their resources in "feeling", unrealistically, that they are going to win and have a chance to win. It is, we all know, a form of tax and a very regressive one at that.////J:  I remember, at least in Michigan, how the lottery was instituted to respond to the "numbers racket" where people were playing a kind of lottery with no regulation or no profits being returned to the public, in general.  In that respect, I approve of the lottery as a solution.  I also agree that the lottery, for many, is an inexpensive way to "daydream" about becoming rich.  Pluses and minuses...Probably coming down on the plus side.

 FROM BLAZING OAKS:  ANOTHER BILL'S QUOTE: "IT'S NOT WHAT YOU'D DO WITH A MILLION, SHOULD FORTUNE BE YOUR LOT, BUT WHAT YOU'RE DOING NOW, WITH THE BUCK AND A HALF YOU'VE GOT!"    MOST OF US ONLY HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT BUCKS, NOT MILLIONS, BUT WE ARE SURELY RICH IN OTHER WAYS, AND HAVE "ENOUGH" AND ARE ABLE TO BE THE GIVER RATHER THAN THE RECEIVER, WHEN POVERTY IS THE ISSUE.  I 'M NOT SURE I REALLY "GET"; TODAY'S QUOTE, BUT I THINK IT WAS J.L. KRAFT WHO SAID, "THERE'S ENOUGH IN THIS WORLD FOR EVERYONE'S NEED, BUT NOT ENOUGHT FOR EVERYONE'S GREED." THAT SUMS IT UP PRETTY SUCCINCTLY...////JACK: "Rich" is in the eye of the beholder.  I'm sure that as you have traveled the world, you've met people who have looked upon you as being incredibly rich.

 FROM PLAIN FOLKS CHESTER:  I asked myself and "rich" won.////JACK:  What do you think Jesus meant when he said, "Blessed are the POOR in spirit?"////PFC:  WHY WOULD HE WANT ANYBODY TO HAVE POOR SPIRIT? I BELIEVE IN GOD AS UPLIFTINHG////JACK:  Jesus seems to be saying...."Blessed is the man who has absolutely nothing, because then he realizes his need for God."  I'm reminded of that scene from "The Jerk" where Steve Martin tyalks about all the things he doesn't need, except....  Blessed is the man who comes to the point where he realizes that nothing is more important than God...because he has nothing.  God is the only thing in his life.  I think that that is the meaning behind the words of Jesus.

 FROM IKE AT THE MIC:  Rich is when you are healthy & happy with what you have.. Poor is when you are sick & don't have food  or a roof over your head.  As  it has been said"I've been rich  & have been poor" & being rich is much much better!  P.S.At the risk of sounding boastful "I have enough money to last the rest of my life that is if I die by 4PM tomorrow afternoon..////FROM JACK:  I once read:  "I've never seen a hearse pulling a U-Haul trailer."

 FROM MEDD-O-LANE:  First, the lotto is a chance, the odds of winning are what is not wise.  Non-material things are priceless making us either rich or poor.////JACK:  Mastercard's TV ads have been "priceless."  For example, "Two tickets: $28. Two hot dogs, two popcorns, two sodas: $18. One autographed baseball: $45. Real conversation with 11 year old son: Priceless."

 FROM PH IN ARIZONA:  the lottery is really a regressive "tax" on the poor.  so much money wasted on a false hope.  uffda.  stay warm, Jack.  it was 81 here today in Mesa.////FROM JACK:  Some of the poor often make poor judgments, but so do some of the rich.  I'm afraid that if the lottery were taken away, the numbers racket would experience a rebirth.  It's an ancient proverb:  "A fool and his money are soon parted."  BTW,  the temperature her in Michigan is also 81, only the numbers are reversed.

 FROM AW IN MICHIGAN:  This one captures the concept so well I felt compelled to pass it along to a few of my contacts. Thanks.////JACK:  Is the life we lead, an act...or is it reality?  I'd like to think that we are who we are.