Another concept, central to human society, is this: Individuals should not try to profit from the misfortunes of others. The promoters of lotteries, however, encourage the view that it is right for an individual to draw profit and pleasure through the losses of others. Such thinking is selfish; it spurns the Bible’s admonition: “You must love your neighbor as yourself.”​—Matthew 22:39.

But is winning the lottery really a hope? It’s much more an illusion, a mirage, an improbable dream. Certainly a conscientious Christian will not waste his time and resources in the vain pursuit of gambling wealth. How much better it is to follow the counsel of the apostle Paul, who wrote that wise people “rest their hope, not on uncertain riches, but on God, who furnishes us all things richly for our enjoyment.”​—1 Timothy 6:17.