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Gambling by Crown Financial Ministries According to a recent report by the Employee Assistance Program at the University of Texas at Austin, since 1997 billions of dollars (approximately 14 billion per year) worth of productivity was lost by business and industry through absenteeism, wasted time, poor work performance, loss of income, criminal acts such as theft, accident, rehabilitation and recovery, and medical treatment, due to gambling and gambling related problems. In addition to this and unseen to most, at least a quarter and maybe more of all family disruptions, neglected or abused children, divorces, impoverishment, mental breakdowns, and suicides were able to be traced back to the negative effects of gambling. In light of these statistics, why have so many bought into the notion that gambling is nothing more than harmless entertainment? What is gambling and why do people gamble? What is gambling? Gambling, in the strictest sense, is a method by which a person can get rich quick without having to earn the wealth by labor. Solomon said in Proverbs 14:23, “In all labor there is profit, but mere talk leads to poverty.” Whereas attaining wealth by working is scriptural, attaining wealth by enticing someone to gain money at the certain loss of another violates every principle taught by Jesus. In short, it is deceptive and sinful. It breeds selfishness, greed, and covetousness and, in fact, promotes them. Regardless of how socially acceptable the practice of gambling has become, it is still preying on the weaknesses of others, contrary to the instruction of Paul recorded in 1 Thessalonians 5:14-15. Why gamble? Many people gamble because they feel that they have needs that cannot be met through earned income. Gambling to them is their “opportunity” to acquire material wealth and comforts. Another group gambles just for the fun of it; they call themselves social gamblers. A third group is compulsive gamblers. To them gambling is a disease that wrecks their finances, families, and careers. At first glance, each group appears to have a different motive for gambling but, in reality, they all have the same motive: gaining materialism without labor (Proverbs 14:23)—the ultimate in get-rich-quick schemes. Is gambling wrong? The following principles can help Christians evaluate whether gambling is an activity with which they should be involved: (1) Many times gambling is connected with other vices, such as prostitution and drugs; (2) gambling is always associated with get-rich-quick motives (Proverbs 28:22); (3) gambling discourages work (Genesis 3:19); (4) gambling often will offend a brother or sister in Christ (1 Corinthians 8:11-12); and (5) gambling manifests a heart of greed and love of money, which Scripture says is the root of all evil. “But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction” (1 Timothy 6:9). Many Christian leaders feel that state lotteries, operating legally in at least thirty-eight states, are a form of gambling, although some Christians do not think so. Yet, if the above principles for evaluating gambling are considered, the state lottery is, most definitely, gambling. The effects of state lotteries Since 1989 Massachusetts citizens spent an average of $1.5 billion annually on lottery tickets. Instead, they could have spent that money in local businesses, placed it in investment vehicles, or deposited it in savings. Ironically, much of those billions goes into the Massachusetts state coffers, making the state the big winner. States generally claim from 35 to 45 percent of the money raised by lotteries. Administration and promotion takes another 10 to 20 percent, leaving less than half of the money collected to be paid to winners. According to the California Grocers Association, 66 percent of the food stores that sell lottery tickets reported a decline in food sales after they began to sell tickets. It is estimated that since 1990 more than half of California''s lottery ticket sales come from customers whose income is near or below the recognized poverty level. The poor tend to be the greater victims of the lottery simply by virtue of the fact that they have smaller incomes. “For the poor, lottery is not harmless entertainment,” says Dr. J. Emmett Henderson, head of the Georgia Council on Moral and Civic Concerns. “It is a desperate but vain attempt to survive. But odds of winning are so cruel (roughly 13 million to one is typical for state lotteries throughout America), that lottery turns out to be theft by consent. Almost all players lose money.” Conclusion Jesus said that all the commandments can be summed up in the first commandment (the greatest): Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind; and in the second commandment, love your neighbor as yourself.

7/9/2008 8:46 PM