The Lottery and the Magical Pill

But the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will buy it from you for a price. I will not offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God that cost me nothing.” 2 Samuel 24:24

It’s my nature to want something for nothing. If I had a choice between winning a million dollars in the lottery or working for it, I’d prefer the lottery. If I had a choice between losing fat and gaining muscle by taking a magical pill or by working hard on diet and exercise, I’d prefer the magical pill. It was no different in my addiction. In the misery of my drug use, I wanted out, but I knew how hard it was going to be to find recovery. Confession, treatment, and radical change was going to be painful, messy, and embarrassing.

So, I turned to God, hoping he would be my lottery ticket and my magical pill. I had well-intentioned Christians around me who reinforced this, telling me that God could miraculously remove my addiction if I just said the right magical words. I went to God, asking for the miracle but I didn’t get it. Rather, I felt God telling me to confess, go to treatment, and do all the hard things I already knew I should do. For a long time, I refused. Eventually though, I did what God asked. Through this, God taught me that if I want the new life, I must do what it takes to abandon the old one, which, by definition, requires sacrifice.

Transformation costs us something. For the new to come, the old must go, and this means sacrifice. This is the lesson of today’s passage, in which King David offered a sacrifice to God for a specific sin of faithlessness. In the story, the king felt compelled to build an altar at a site owned by a man named Araunah. Araunah offered to give King David the land, the supplies for the altar, and the oxen, all for free. David however, wisely insisted upon paying Araunah. He knew that the offering must cost him something. Transformation requires sacrifice.

If, in my addiction, God had just miraculously removed my appetite for the pill – and I believe he could have – I’d have learned nothing except that I can do whatever I want and get away with it. God though, desired to teach me obedience and since my will is often contrary to his will, obedience means surrendering my will for his. I know of those who’ve gotten the miracle of instant transformation, but miracles, by definition, are rare events. Usually, if I want radical transformation, I’ve got to be willing to do whatever it takes to change. And that always requires obedience and sacrifice.