Timothy Poole recently won a $3 million scratch-off prize in the Florida Lottery. The standard publicity photo showing him posing with an oversized check caused an unexpected stir. Several people recognized Poole and informed officials that he was a registered sexual predator who had been arrested 12 times and done two stints in Florida prisons.
Lottery officials removed Poole’s picture from their official website.
Why do bad things happen to good people? Why do good things happen to bad people? Why did Timothy Poole win the lottery?
The idea that we essentially get what we deserve is a widely held human view. Americans say that what goes around comes around. Buddhists call it karma. Jewish belief is that Hashem responds with measure for measure.
Can a “bad” person merit reward because of one incredible act of kindness or courage? Can a “good” person’s worth be altered by a horrific act of evil? And just what really determines if something that happens to us is for the bad or for the good?
Several years ago I read an interesting article about breast cancer survivors. Remarkably, the women in each story came to the same conclusion: dealing with this illness had actually changed their lives for the good. They all agreed that the disease had given them a totally different perspective on life. They no longer sweated the small stuff. They were grateful for each day.
I have also read several pieces about lottery winners who went broke after winning millions. The stories were sad. Some were horrific. Many of the winners were unable to deal with the windfall. They expressed regret for ever having received the jackpot. A recent study on Florida’s Fantasy 5 showed that lottery winners were twice as likely to go bankrupt as the general population.
Recent parshiot (weekly Torah readings) reflect this theme. Joseph’s brothers threw him in a pit. They meant it for the bad. God, however, meant it for the good. The events that followed put Joseph in a position of power and put the Hebrews in a place that would lead to redemption and revelation.
Sometimes glitter is only fool’s gold and sometimes what looks like sand or gravel turns out to be the mother lode. Things are not always as they seem.