Articles
Gambling is for Losers
Not everything that’s legal is moral. This week sports betting was legalized in Kentucky. And, who jumped in front of the line to show their ardent support, but our very own governor. There’s a difference between a weak leader, like Pilate, who did not want to punish Jesus, but who would not resist the crowds, and one who casts the first lot (or bet). With all the attention that gambling and sports betting is getting right now, let’s be reminded why true believers will abstain.
Gambling is wrong because it shows no love for your neighbor (Rom. 13:8-10). Love does not seek its own (1 Cor. 13:5). Gambling is predicated on the losses of others. A gambler violates the golden rule; he seeks to do to another person what he himself does not want done to him (Lk. 6:31). It is not loving to want what is your neighbors without having to give him something of equal value in exchange.
Gambling is stealing by mutual consent. W. E. Bierderwolf observed, "Gambling bears the same relationship to robbery that dueling does to murder. One man meets another in a dark alley and takes his life at the end of a pistol, and you call it murder; two men meet each other in an alley and agree to shoot each other until one or both fall dead, and you call it dueling. But the only difference is that in the first case there is one murderer, and in the second there are [potentially] two. One man meets another in a dark alley and takes his money at the end of a pistol and you call it robbery; two men meet each other around a table and agree to take each other's mon-ey with dice or cards, and you call it gambling. But the only difference is that in the first case there is only one robber and in the second case there are two."
Gambling exploits the poor. It preys upon their desperation. The National Gambling Impact Study Commission found that those with an average income of less than $10,000 annually spend more on the lottery than any other in-come group. High school dropouts spend 4x’s as much as college graduates; let me guess, especially those who weren’t so good at math. A gambler may win at the loss of one who can least afford it. A disproportionate number of lottery players are the very poor, who take food out of their children's mouths in the elusive hope of winning. One study found that the poor bet approxi-mately 3x’s the amount wagered by persons in middle and upper income are-as (State Legislators Magazine, October 1981). In 1976, the Dallas Times Her-ald reported on a pawn shop owner who had patrons sell their artificial limbs, glass eye, or gold teeth to hock them for gambling money. "A Maryland study found that the poorest one-third of the state households bought half of all weekly lottery tickets....Another study concluded that the lotteries in Con-necticut and Massachusetts were equivalent to a state sales tax of over 60 percent on lower-income groups" (Christianity Today, July 10, 1987).
Mal 3:5 And I will come near you for judgment; I will be a swift witness against sorcerers, against adulterers, against perjurers, against those who exploit wage earners and widows and orphans, and against those who turn away an alien-- because they do not fear Me," says the LORD of hosts. (NKJ)
Gambling is unfaithful stewardship (1 Cor. 4:2). The reason people think they can afford to waste a little money on the chance of striking it rich is they do not appreciate their role as stewards. He who sees his money as his own hard-earned cash may think he has the right to “blow it”, but scripture teaches that our wealth is not for blowing, but for providing for our own and for shar-ing (1 Tim. 6:18). Finding disposable income to blow on the possibility of getting more is very presumptuous of one’s Creator / provider. (James 4:13ff)
"Gambling is inconsistent with the work ethic of Scripture." Gambling is an attempt to bypass God’s original plan for man; to work hard with his hands and provide for his family. It is an effort to get something for nothing (Eph. 4:28). "He who works his land will have abundant food, but he who chases fantasies lacks judgment." (Proverbs 12:11) "Dishonest money dwindles away, but he who gathers money little by little makes it grow." (Proverbs 13:11). Gambling appeals to laziness, not honest productive labor.
Gambling is associated with worldliness. Christians are to "take thought for things honorable in the sight of all men" (Rom. 12:17). We must "be blameless and innocent...above reproach in the midst of a crooked, perverse genera-tion" (Phil. 2:15-16). Gambling has a dishonorable track record, and is often asso-ciated with the worst elements in society. Permit me a little folly—when Biff Tan-nen stole the time machine in Back to the Future II, he created a degenerate soci-ety fashioned in his image. And just what did the writers envision to depict such an evil, corrupt time and place? It was none other than Biff’s Pleasure Paradise, casino & hotel. And now, we are rapidly conforming to this degeneracy, and with full support of our leaders. George Washington said gambling "is the child of ava-rice, the brother of indignity, the father of mischief." Early Christians faced the problem too. In the 2nd century A.D., Tertullian wrote, "If you say you are a Christian when you are a dice player, you say what you are not, because you are a partner with the world." For the Christian "to be above reproach," we must steer clear of “all forms of evil” (1 Thes. 5:22).
Gambling is founded upon greed and discontentment. It is one of many get-rich-quick schemes. "A faithful man will be richly blessed, but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished" (Prov. 28:20). In a recent national poll, 2/3rds of respond-ents stated that the reason they gamble is to win money… and the remaining 1/3rd are liars. I’m sure they were the ones who said that they gambled for ‘fun’. “I don’t need any more money, I’ve got enough.” Gambling appeals to "the love of money" (1 Tim. 6:9-10), the root of all sorts of evil (1 Tim. 6:17).
Gambling is habit-forming and highly addictive. This is a self-evident truth, to which the existence of Gambler’s Anonymous attests. A tree is known by it’s fruit (Mt. 7:16). Ten million Americans have a gambling addiction; six percent of whom are adolescents. Three-fourths of high school students are involved in some form of gambling. By the time gamblers finally seek help, their debts usual-ly range between $18,000 and $50,000. Many gamblers sound a lot like drunk-ards sayings things like, “I know my limits. I would never bet that which I can’t afford to lose.”
Many justify gambling for all the good that the funding will provide to schools and other worthy organizations. But, shall we do evil that good may come (Rom. 3:8)?
