May 21, 2008
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What are your thoughts on Gambling? Is it a sin to gamble?
What are your thoughts on Gambling? Is it a sin to gamble? Should people gamble?
I will add my thoughts in a bit but would love to hear yours
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Gambling
in its many different forms has been a problem to society for
generations. It has been the ruin and destruction of many people who
have willingly or otherwise fallen into its heartbreaking trap.
Gambling includes such things as casino gambling, horse racing, high
risk investments, and state-sponsored lotteries.Gambling
often becomes an addiction and is a continual source of heartache,
poverty, and suffering to those homes where one or more members are
ensnared. The existence of groups such as Gamblers Anonymous, which
attempt to help individuals over come their addiction, confirms the
seriousness of this problem.Time
magazine estimates that there are nearly eight million compulsive
gamblers in America, one million of whom are teenagers. An Illinois
criminal justice professor found eight times as many gambling addicts
among college students as among adults.Government
should promote public virtue not seduce its citizens to gamble in
state-sponsored vice. Government is supposed to be a minister of God
according to Romans 13, but its moral stance is compromised when it
enters into a gambling enterprise.Citizens
would be outraged if their state government began enticing its
citizens to engage in potentially destructive behavior (like taking
drugs). But those same citizens see no contradiction when government
legalizes and even promotes gambling. Instead of being a positive
moral force in society, government contributes to the corruption of
society.Gambling
is a major cause of family neglect. Many of the social costs
associated with gambling come from its mindset. As people get caught
up in a gambling frenzy, they begin to neglect their families. Money
spent on lottery tickets or at horse tracks is frequently not risk
capital but is income that should be spent on family needs. In 1
Timothy 5:8 it says that a person who refuses to care for his family
is worse than an infidel.Will
I be able to stand before God, the giver of all, and say that I have
used His gifts wisely if I have used even a portion of the time,
abilities, and possessions he has given me in gambling? Is it good
stewardship to pour money down the drain in games which you know have
the odds stacked against you?Can
you picture Jesus sitting at a slot machine with a cup full of
quarters?
Comments (9)
I believe Gambling is a sin. It is self indulgence and self gratification and I believe God would rather us use our money on much better things. It’s very addictive and our minds and hearts are not focused on God but of ourselves.
I believe it’s a sin, it leads to abuse and even more gross sin that goes along with that lifestyle. I have an uncle that was addicted to gambling and was a bookie. He was the sweetest, most intelligent person, not a wheeler-dealer type at all. He had wanted to become a veteranarian. The poor man ruined his life. He’s in his later 70s now, divorced etc. I could write a lot here but it may not even be believable.
Dr. Dobson came out strongly against gambling and even did a radio piece on it. Doesn’t the Bible write about great gain without working for it?
Interesting post, we’re not hearing much on things like this anymore. : ) Blessings! ~Amelia
Anything that raises itself before God…where it be your car, your job, house, kids, spouse, food, and gambling, is an idol in your life and therefore sin….blessings to you Kristen
“Can
you picture Jesus sitting at a slot machine with a cup full of
quarters?”
ROFLOL!!!!!!! No, I can’t. But the image in my mind . . . .LOL
I think we are clearly to be good stewards over our money. I HAVE gambled in the past with $20 changed into quarters. Once in a Las Vegas airport on a lay over when I was 21yo and once at Tahoe about 5 years ago when my mother took us to see Lake Tahoe and the casinos. Both times I doubled my money, but, before I started, I looked at the $20 as money already lost, just like it would have been on a couple rides at Six Flags or an overpriced meal in the airport.
HOWEVER, the time at Lake Tahoe was different. I felt horribly guilty (sitting at a slot machine with a headcovering!!!!!!!!!!! – something was very wrong with that picture!!!! – much like my visualizing Jesus with a cup of quarters!!!!) and I felt like I was being a poor witness by behaving in a manner that could cause another brother/sister to stumble. How could anyone possibly know I only was willing to lose 20 bucks and am extremely and strongly full of self control? WRONG! WRONG! WRONG!
That WAS the last time I gambled and will forever be the last time. I’m not a betting type of person anyway (never have been) and on those two occasions, I reconciled the small twenty dollars as a possible loss as the reality of the “cost” to play the “game.”
Guess I’ve changed a lot.
I’m in complete agreement with it being classified as a type of addiction. I was with someone for a while who loved the horse races and betting on football games. The amount of money involved (or should I say LOST) turned my stomach.
I hope no one thinks ill of me after reading this – but I’m not a liar and am a very open person about mistakes I’ve made.
@cherylyn_p - I don’t think any less of you
God bless
That brings up an very interesting subject especially for me. ha! lol. ****** i am not saying im perfect nor am i making excuses but this here shows part of the reason why we are getting a divorce that could be for a blog but its to ucky to try and explain.******
When I was married..err still married but getting divorce. My soon to be x husband used to love to go to casinos. He said it was becuase he like to look around and all that crap. That was an excuse to go in and blow money. That was always one of our fights… and arguments was money and how it was used and all that kinda crap. I was the one that went with him and yes i took money but it was $20 and when that was gone I was ready to go. Him nope.. he could play for hours and hours. I know when we went to see my sister down in southern oklahoma they had opened a new casino, and he wanted to go I was like okay but i didnt want to go but I did since he wasnt familier with the area around there. I also know that we had many of fights over money and i had to use the money i eared for the household but yet when it come to paying some of the bills, I couldnt pay them all he had to helpa nd that was dragging blood from aturnip. Keep in mind I brought my son into the marriage, and well he didnt want to be around hunter he put up with him and stuff but I do reember this one particular incident after we had come from visiting my sister, we had passed a casino and he wanted to go back to it. Again i didnt want to go but I did anyway… but.. we were there maybe an hour. I was ready to go and my phone rang and it was my son wanting me to come home he had hurt himself or something.. he was at his cousins house. I come home and when I went back inside I told my husband I said come on we are leaving he said why he was winning and he aint leaving. I said we are going YOUR son.. **because he claimed him** is hurt and wanting us to come home. Man talked about a man that was pissed… He sure was… Oh well… He was mad for the next 3 days at me for it.
To say the least that was beginning of the end and this was in Dec and well Jan 13 he pulled a butcher knife on me and told me to kill him. I was like what?? and we argueed till 0230 that morning. It sucked….
Anywhoo sorry I got on a tangent.
Gambling is a sin for a number of reasons.
I grew up in the world & my mother couldn’t handle dads death (he was 36 @ the time), in 1972 in the Vietnam War over Laos. My mother was only 32 years old & had to of us girls to raise & I was 10 & my sister 7 @ the time. My mother couldn’t handle the situation & her so-called friends, said here: drink this: this will help. There was nothing further from the truth, it was the biggest lie. When my mother came home drunk, she was taken control of by the wrong spirit: & I wanted that beast to come out of her. For I knew what she was like before all that. Just as Alcohol destroys families, so does Gambling…….!! Out family was in the middle class & let me tell you Alcohol &
Gambling, etc…….: Affects many people, this sin snowballs. We weren’t poor by any means (Or were we: after all we didn’t have a close family, so we must of been poor), & well…….: we weren’t rich either. We had a home to dwell in, a nice one @ that, if you look @ the structure of the house & judge it by that & nice clothes to wear, we never lacked for anything, but a sober mother, Our very lives were in danger, for back then they didn’t have a title for it: but now they do & it is appropriate too: “Child Endangerment.” Due to our mothers drunk driving, & her getting so close to the edge of the road all the time, life was very scary for us & our lives were in danger. Still to this day, I get real nervous if anyone get’s close to the edge of the road as a result.
I didn’t get saved until the age of 29 years old. So, now I look @ life from a Christian perspective. “Marriage is Gods Original intent.”
Satan is in the business of destroying families. He lies to everyone & tells them it is okay, you can do what you want & not pay the concequenses for it: Wrong, there is nothing further from the truth. Sin especially that of Gambling & drinking, which usually but not always go hand in hand. Satan also tells people that they can have the same sex marriage partner without problems. Then when you try to share Gods love to people, they turn the table around & call it a hate crime. It was long ago that this kind of thing was hidden in the closet & now they want to put Christianity in the closet. Our world is twisted in the hands of Satan’s Monopoly!! If Satan can destory families, & effect families (people’s) thinking: then he can destroy the world. He has destroyed many families & therefore who they vote into the place of the president, has an effect on our world. Since the Bible has been thrown out in the early 60′s, this world has gone down hill: It’s had an effect on parents & children. God has given people over to a reprobate mind & it is no-wonder our world is in the shape that it is in.
Obama claims peace, but knows not the peace of God. So, therefore the peace he claims is hollow & not of God. Satan is a counterfeit of God & I truly believe that Obama being that he is not of God is Satans counterfeit. Satan is running out of time & he is using all the tricks he can to get others to depend on our government to take care of them, via Welfare & the upcoming health care system: which isn’t good @ all, if you think you have bad health care service now, just you wait: It is getting worse & will be if Obama or Hillery have anything to do with it. He’s drawing people into this unity thing, we can’t be united: if these religions do not believe the whole Bible, so therefore we are independent & for good reasons!! Satan will deceive many into believing that we ought to unite, & through the changing of Gods Holy word, many will unite into this “One World Religion.” It’s ironic, in a bad way (very sad) @ how many people are blinded to this situation.
Note: You have Many good posts here & I enjoy the topic’s of conversation that you have in regards to the Bible Vs. Sin!! Praise God 4 topic’s like this.
I think this is on of those drinking vs. getting drunk topics… Some Christians are okay with drinking but not with getting drunk, and others disagree with all alcohol consumption. This is the same thing… I think some people will think that gambling is okay in moderation, but most will probably say that developing an addiction is bad.
I think gambling and drinking are both rather pointless. And like the drinking thing, all I can really be sure about is that excessive gambling is sinful. Everyone is different; some people have the capacity to gamble/drink responsibly, and some people just don’t… So, again, don’t know if that makes it sinful if you CAN do so responsibly (like just trying a different kind or drink every once in a while or buying one lottery ticket for the fun of it). I actually think I did buy a lottery ticket after I turned 18 just because, but it never went any further than that. And I plan on staying as far away from drinking as I can when I turn legal, just cause I’ve seen the harm that alcohol can do and I tend to learn from others.
But anyway, I think if we all had self control it would be a different story, but we all don’t, so it’s a different experience for everyone. As for me, I do have good control but I try to stay away from these things anyway out of fear of still messing things up and possibly displeasing God, and that’s what I’d advise just about anyone else to do.
God Bless,
Chris