Cha Ching
Do you have your reward?
I watched a documentary years ago about how casinos use our brains against us. It showed an experiment where mice were trained to push a button to get a very small bit of cheese. At first, every time the mouse pushed the button, they received the reward. But later, sometimes the mouse would get the cheese, sometimes it wouldn’t. They wanted to know how little cheese they could give the mouse for it’s many pushes of the button. They would even leave a larger bit of cheese near the button to see if the mouse would leave the button and get the food they needed. Sadly, some mice would die because they would push that button until they starved. I can’t remember where I saw it. Probably on Discovery or The Learning Channel (TLC) back when they actually offered programming that taught you something.
The documentary even reviewed studies about how the lights and sounds of the casinos encourage people to keep sitting there, pushing the button or pulling the arm, feeding the machine their money. They found that the sound of the coins in the tray when they hit seemed to keep the poor gambler there until they were out of money—the money they came in with and the money they ‘won.’ The machines, it seems, were set to maximize the brain’s addiction. Just the right amount of music and the sound of the ‘winnings’ hitting the tray. Just the right number of times they should ‘win’ to keep them sitting there as long as possible. Ultimately, it was found that the money was not the reward. It was the dopamine hit that was the real prize.
Nearly 10 million Americans have a gambling habit. That’s a lot of people chasing a dopamine hit at the cost of more than $35 Billion on slot machines alone. Social media apps employ similar tactics to keep us glued to our phones. We like those dings. Crave them. We chase the dopamine hit that comes with ‘likes’ and notification badges.
In the second temple, there was a metal chute shaped like a ram’s horn for worshipers to insert their tithes and offerings. The coins placed in the chute would tingaling down to the treasury boxes at the bottom. Everyone would know if you gave a little or a lot. Some would deliberately give as many coins as they could to make the chute sing as long as possible. Imagine, if today we gave $100 in pennies (10,000 coins) in a brass ram’s horn, each one echoing in the trumpet as they bounced along to the chest below. Wouldn’t that be quite the spectacle?
So when Luke 21 describes Jesus looking up as the rich men gave their gifts to the temple, it makes sense now. There must have been a lot of music and noise as the rich men sounded the trumpet. Then comes the poor widow with her two mites.
Ding.
Ding.
Not a lot of music. Not a lot of noise. No grand display. But Jesus says for all the fanfare and chiming from the rich men’s gifts, the widow’s offering was more because it was all she had (v. 3, 4).
Jesus cautions against doing righteous deeds out in the open for the praise of others. The chiming at the temple when they gave (Matthew 6:2). The passionate public prayers (Matthew 6:5). The large and showy prayer shawls (Matthew 23:5). Walking about gaunt so that everyone knew if one was fasting (Matthew 16:6). They have their reward, He says. The goal for them, it seems, is not to seek the approval of God, but the praise and honor of the people around them (John 12:43). Their piety is not meant to encourage and support other believers, nor to honor God. It is meant to increase their status and station in the temple and in the community. Like the mouse and the gambler, they have their reward.
Our houses of worship do not have brass horns that announce our giving (as far as I know). However, I’ve visited churches that have a separate offering for tithers—Tithers walk up and put their tithe in the basket. Those who don’t tithe, wait for the plate to be passed. We donate to causes with big checks. Announce large gifts to charitable organizations. Make public pledges. People get excited, clapping and cheering. It feels good. We get our hit. We have our reward. We become like the mouse that forgets he is hungry and the gambler who forgets that he is broke. We happily settle for the praise of men, forgoing the open blessings of our God that comes with secret giving.
Gambling is a struggle for more than 20 million Americans, who spend $400 Billion annually. The effects of this struggle can include extreme debt, loss of homes and other properties, and sometimes death by suicide. But there are other addictions, with other penalties, aren’t there? Food. Alcohol. Sex. Drugs. Hoarding. They all stem from an attempt to please anyone, everyone, other than God. The high, the euphoria, the delight is in something that can never truly fulfill us or bring joy.
The dopamine hit from our addictions, whatever they are, does feel good for a time. But like all addictive behaviors, the feeling is fleeting and we are soon ready for another, stronger hit. We become like the mouse, craving validation and creating an unquenchable hunger for more…more…more. When we seek God’s approval, blessings, and provision instead, we can say like David: Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore. (Psalm 16:11). That’s an everlasting reward that truly satisfies. Amen.
A mining operation. Mine the wealth in society. Had a freind I grew up with that lost 50k gambling and had to move back into his childhood home with his mother, at 55 years old.
'A mining operation'...aptly put!