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Money That Kills


Gambling (The devil’s chip playground).

Let us say that you have a decent job, a family, a beautiful home, a nice car and good children. Even if you don’t have all these things, say you had money and there was this habit that you became hooked on or someone turned you on to it. It may start with the simple scratching off of tickets. Now even I love this kind of “small’ temptation.

But a person could very well spend over a thousand dollars a month on scratch offs. True every once in a while you do win a little something. Playing it everyday or every other day can become addictive and once that addiction starts, that person might want to try winning the bigger prizes.

This person may have his or her stroke of luck with the scratch offs. Here in this playground, there is a beautiful array of colors, smells, little cards, and sounds. This may be considered fool’s gold. You win some and you lose some, and what you win, you put back into the games to play to try to win more. So where does it all begin?

The gambling begins nowhere.

The playground starts when you are younger. You hear people say, it’s a form of habit that could be hereditary. Wrong! You cannot blame this on your ancestry or your upbringing.  No one is to blame but the devil himself.  Just realize that you are not at fault and neither is your family. The devil can make it so appealing to you that you just can’t help yourself. Does that mean you are weak? No, it just means that you don’t know God yet.

Money is money, but this is one form of abuse that can make you lose everything. Your house, your job, your car, your spouse and your children should be the most important things in your life. This is one playground which will lead you to becoming homeless. If you are smart about it, you will come to your senses, and stop before it’s too late. How? First, you must notice and admit that you do have a problem, go to someone in which you trust who will listen and be with you when you take that step in going to get help. What if I’m not ready to give up leaving this playing? This will be a question asked in each playground that you enter into.

No one said that the road would be easy. It brings to mind a song, “I don’t believe He brought me this far to leave me.” There is a much higher power than you which will assist you in your journey to the other side of the good life.

I will admit to the fascination of the cards, the bells, the smells and colors of going to a place where there is a lot going on.

Since I wasn’t huge on how to play all the games, it saved me from spending money that I didn’t have. Call it will power or whatever you want but if you go in with a mind of how much you are going to spend and stick to that plan, you might just be all right.

When someone tells you that they are happy about winning $30,000, don’t get it in the back of your mind that you might need to try the same thing because what works for one may not work for someone else. Congratulate that person on his or her winnings and live the best life you can live. I understand that it can be difficult not to do what he or she did. That person wasn’t going there thinking he or she would win anything; to them it could have been just luck. What if you get caught up? You can’t weigh it out because if you do then that playground will become bigger and bigger and bigger and then you would lose yourself in such a big playground that you won’t be able to find your way out. If you happen to go into this “playground” bring a strong enough friend with you that will keep you from getting lost. Questions upon questions will come up so you’ll have to think which is more important. Think of what takes priority. Ask yourself if you can afford to go into this playground.

Commercials are attractive as well.

They try to appeal to a person’s thoughts and that’s the first thing that goes. Continue to ask yourself, “Did that person really walk out of that playground with that much money?” That’s more money than a person makes within a year. That’s the first thought that will come to mind when another person sees how much someone has won. Day three, breathe again and say, “I love my job and want to keep it.” I must admit again, I love watching the commercials because at times the commercials are more interesting than what you watch on television.

My first taste of being in that playground was one Christmas I got a scratch off as a present from my cousin. I sat there talking to my family, with quarter in hand and scratched off the card like a kid in a candy store. On this scratch off it stated that I had won $4.00. Okay, so $4.00 isn’t much to some, but at that time, it was more than what I had in my pocket. I then started going to the stores looking to enter into this playground to see if I could become a bigger winner even if it was just for $100.00, I wanted to win it. Over time, I got tired of losing. Luckily or blessedly, I hadn’t hit rock bottom before I stopped. Many people don’t get that chance to stop before hitting rock bottom. By then, as mentioned earlier, it does become an addiction, and that person would have hit rock bottom.

Inside you, there is a stronger you who wants to stop.

Many people don’t want others to know their business because people talk. People like gossip and that’s really not good. Gossip causes hurt and pain when it comes in the wrong context. Strong gossip may cause people shut down and not get help at all. The same people who judge are the same people who are going through the same problem. They don’t tell what’s going on in their lives in fear of the “gossip” that comes along. It doesn’t have to be with the chip playground either. Realize people will talk regardless; you have to get the help that you need in order to get out of that playground.

Will power is the best advice anybody can give you. Take it like you want it. It’s up to you to want to make that change for the better to save your job, home and your family. In these tough economic time (or so it may seem that way) some may feel that “I can go into this playground with what I have, play a little bit and try to win.” So that they bills can get paid and put a little bit of food on the table. But what if the money that was meant for the bills is spent in the playground and you lose it all? This is one way you can lose everything, quickly. So, for at least a month everything is cut off in your home, or you take on another job to come up with the money so that you can have things turn back on. But still questions arise and you wonder what will you do with the second check you receive from the second job that you work so hard to get to support the family? Be a man (or woman) and do what’s right. There are other people in your household depending on you to provide for them, care for them, love them and protect them.

Lessons:

No one is perfect.

Find your inner strength.

Go to your friends.

Go to your church.

Find a support group that’s outside your family and friends.

Stacey Barlow is a contributing blogger for JenningsWire, a blogging community created by Annie Jennings.