Plan for: Thanksgiving | Advent | Christmas

Sermon Illustrations

In 1988 William "Bud" Post won $16.2 million in the Pennsylvania lottery. When he was interviewed recently he said, "I wish it never happened. It was totally a nightmare,"

Obtained at www.google.com "Stories of Lotto winners gone broke"

A former girlfriend successfully sued him for a share of his winnings, but that was not the only lawsuit. One of his brothers was arrested for hiring a hit man to kill him in hopes of inheriting his fortune.

Other siblings pestered him until he agreed to invest in a car business and a restaurant in Sarasota, Fla., -- both of these business ventures brought no return for his money back and to make matters worse it further strained his relationship with his brothers and sisters.

Within a year of winning the lotto, Post was $1 million in debt and miserable. He even spent time in jail for firing a gun over the head of a bill collector.

Post admitted he was both careless and foolish, trying to please his family. He eventually declared bankruptcy. Bud Post now lives quietly on $450 a month and food stamps.

He says, "I’m tired, I’m over 65 years old, and I just had a serious operation for a heart aneurysm. Lotteries don’t mean [anything] to me,".

Related Sermon Illustrations

Related Sermons