As a popular form of gambling, lottery plays on human psychology by offering a small chance to change one’s life in a very big way. But there’s a darker underbelly to this form of gambling: it encourages a false sense of meritocracy, the idea that anyone can win, as well as an escapist fantasy that wealth will come easy. This can be harmful in the long run because God wants us to earn our money honestly (Proverbs 23:5), not squander it through foolishness.

The message that lotteries send isn’t just about the fact that you have a slight chance of winning a big prize. They also tell people that the money they spend on tickets goes to good causes. They aren’t wrong about this, but they often leave out important context, like the size of the jackpot prize; the fact that it will be paid in annual payments over 30 years; and the fact that taxes and inflation will dramatically reduce its current value.

Lottery players come from all walks of life, but a majority of them are middle-income. Studies suggest that lower-income neighborhoods have fewer of these players. Moreover, when they play, they tend to spend more per ticket. While this may seem harmless, it can lead to a lifetime of debt and poor decisions. In addition, playing the lottery is a bad idea because it distracts from the real work of earning one’s own income. It’s a waste of time and resources that could be put toward building an emergency savings account or paying off credit card debt.