A Sure Thing

If you listened closely to the deafening roar of people exercising their right to lose, you could also hear the quiet murmur of people working for a living. The lights were dimmed over most of the tables, but the roulette wheel was always open and last call would never come.

A man stood before a five-dollar slot machine with a one-dollar token in his hand. On this particular morning, as at four o’clock every morning for the past two weeks, Thom found that he had squandered hundreds of thousands of dollars on the superficial attention that self-destructive recklessness commands. He had recently come into an apparently limitless inheritance that only served to elevate his lack of faith to the level of agonizing disbelief.

“Can you see the future?”

Thom flinched at the sudden breach of his personal space. “What did you say?”

A sweet, little old lady who looked like she had baked every blue-blooded American boy on God’s green earth his very own apple pie stood looking at Thom over rhinestone-encrusted glasses. “It’s not a crystal ball, sweetie. You’ve got to pay to play.”

Thom chuckled. “I know. Maybe I’m just waiting for the planets to align.”

“Well unless five bucks are going to fall from Uranus, I suggest you step aside and let a serious gambler get to work, You Bum!”

Without a word and without the strength to put up a fight, Thom hung his head and walked away. He had barely taken twelve steps before bells and sirens announced to the world that a “serious gambler” had just won $75,000. Without looking back, Thom consoled himself with the thought that $75,000 would not cover his losses over just the past hour. He was sure this qualified him as deadly serious.

Back in his suite, Thom ordered up some breakfast. A few eggs, a couple pieces of toast and a carafe of orange juice later, he decided to see how the dogs were running. A sweaty, sunburned man in seersucker had given Thom a personal guarantee earlier in the week (an elbow and a wink) that Saturday’s 50:1 long shot would finish first in the third. Thom had a few hours to kill before betting was open, so he treated himself to a hot shower, a fresh change of clothes, and an hour-and-a-half of sitting in front of the television watching nothing in particular in high definition. With fifteen minutes to spare and $1,000 in his fist, Thom double-checked the keys in his pocket and left without turning off the lights.

Dogs had never been kind to Thom and the feeling was mutual. But, this was different. This was a greyhound named “Can’t Lose” and everything about betting on her just felt right. It was not so much that Thom needed, or even really wanted, to win $50,000. Money was one thing he would never have to worry about again. No, what Thom wanted and what he was beginning to depend on, was finding the one thing – anything – on which he could stake everything and win.

Standing at the rail waiting for the dogs to burst out of the gate, it occurred to Thom that he was already behind. For some strange reason the very thing he thought would always put him ahead of the pack, seemed to be what weighed him down the most. Thom chased this thought around in his mind until he grew dizzy. Suddenly, in a blinding flash of brown and gray, the dogs erupted onto the track. Can’t Lose took an early lead, while Born Lucky, the favorite to win fell back into fourth. Thom’s dog had increased the lead to a full body length by the first turn. The crowd went wild as Born Lucky dug in deep and swept into second. It was Can’t Lose and Born Lucky shoulder-to-shoulder into the stretch! As the electric bunny whizzed by and those poor dogs came tearing after something they would never catch, Thom caught a glimpse of the truth he had been pursuing. It’s not enough. He whispered to himself. It’s never enough.

Thom let his ticket fall to the ground and started walking back to the hotel. He never found out whether or not Can’t Lose lived up to her name. He just hoped she would make it off the track one day and be taken into a loving family. He remembered an odd comment that his mother used to make. She would say, “You should never gamble if you can’t afford to lose.” But, watching those dogs run, it occurred to Thom that you could always afford to lose if you valued nothing. He came to the conclusion that this was his problem. The gnawing emptiness he had been trying to fill with gambling and self-indulgence of epic proportions had become bottomless.

“Excuse me.”

Thom flinched again. He was a little jumpy. A neatly dressed young woman stood in front of him. He quickly regained his composure and raised an eyebrow inquisitively.

“Can I ask you a question?” She continued.

“You just did.” Thom smiled. Her expression was soft and she seemed a little nervous. Thom got the impression that she wanted to ask him something important. “Just kidding. Ask away.”

“Are you one-hundred percent sure you’ll go to heaven when you die?”

“Uh… Well,” Thom stalled. I am a hundred percent sure that I’ll eventually die, and I’m about fifty percent sure I’ll go somewhere at that point. But, I’d say I’m only about twenty-five percent certain that this would be heaven.”

It was hard to say whether this young woman failed to appreciate Thom’s humor or Thom had botched his delivery. Either way she had a follow-up question.

“Wouldn’t you like to have an assurance that you will?”

Thom studied her face for several moments before answering. She was serious. He asked, “Are you one-hundred percent sure that you’ll go to heaven when you die?”

“Yes.” She answered without hesitation.

Thom was doubtful. “What has this assurance cost you?”

“Everything.”

“Everything?”

“All my heart, all my strength and all my soul.” All her nervousness was gone. She seemed to grow taller and brighter as she spoke.

“What about your money?” Thom asked without thinking.

A profound expression of sadness eclipsed the young woman’s features for a moment. “Is your money all that you have?”

* * *

Hours later Thom’s ears were still ringing. The kindness with which she had asked him that question; the truth that answering her had brought him to face, both pierced him to the very core of his being. His money was all that he had and it meant nothing to him. Thom now saw that he had much more to lay on the table and infinitely more to gain. Walking along the beach, listening to the quiet insistence of the sea toward some greater purpose, Thom considered God the Father and Jesus the Son. A comforting spirit of peace began to fill his heart as he looked out over the waves. The horizon was clear and bright and beautiful. The sun, the sand, the surf; all creation sang of God’s greatness. Thom opened his heart for the first time in his life and God opened his eyes.


For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? -Mark 8:36, 37