It could be you…

On a Tuesday morning when I sell the War Cry at Dartford station I stand next to a sign advertising the National Lottery. It's never really crossed my mind until this morning that we both stand there advertising hope. The inanimate sign with its fingers-crossed logo and me in my Army cap.

'It could be you' is the catchphrase of the UK national lottery and if ever a slogan made spurious claims then this one does! Of course there is a possibility that it 'might be you' but the odds are incredibly slim. Indeed, if an apparently healthy man of 40 goes into a newsagents on Monday morning and buys a lottery ticket he is 40 times more likely to die of natural causes by the following Saturday than he is to win the jackpot. If the same man went into a casino and placed £1 on no 7 and won and decided to leave his winnings on number 7 for six more spins and won every time – that feat (statistically speaking) is 12 times more likely than winning the National Lottery jackpot.

People don't play the lottery to win they play it to hope. As long as they have a valid ticket in their pocket then there is always a possibility that it might be them. As long as that hope remains alive then they can dream. They can fall asleep working out how they will spend their money. They can make fantastic plans and there need be no limit to their imaginations. If, when the National Lottery began in 1995, you've bought a ticket for every draw (and never won) you will have spent over £1500!

If you spent £1,000 each week buying lottery tickets you would, on average, match all six numbers about once every 270 years.

And if you do want to play the lottery - please don't select the numbers 1,2,3,4,5,6. Camelot has reported that 30,000 people pick those numbers each week.

In reality, not playing the lottery and saving £2 every week, would probably (with investment) give most punters a greater financial return.

Gambling is a mug's game and yet the number of the gamblers in the UK is increasing at an alarming rate.

One of the most popular methods of betting at the moment, especially among young people is playing 'Fixed Odds Betting Machines' (FOBs). These are the "virtual roulette" machines you find in high street bookmakers, and although they have been specifically designed (and the software written) to take punter's money and make bookmakers a profit they are still incredibly popular. The bookmakers love these machines. They account for a huge part of their profits nowadays. They have been described as the crack cocaine of gambling, and, as with real roulette, gamblers have no chance of beating the odds. Over time, the machine always wins. Also a gambler can bet up to £100 on one spin.

Why do people insist on putting their money into schemes that (in reality) offer nothing but bankruptcy and despair? Because there is always an outside chance, a very slim hope that it just 'might be you'.

Of course I know that real hope can only be found in Jesus Christ and that's why I stand at the station every week with the War Cry.

Peter encourages us to be "always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have."

As I stood by the lottery sign this morning, even though it couldn't think or speak, I was aware that it was without doubt a more effective witness than I was. To be an effective and innovative evangelist takes effort and thought – standing outside the station with the War Cry is certainly better than nothing but if I'm going to be a real threat to the sign I stand next to every Tuesday (and defeat the evil it represents) I need to do a lot better!