Religious Views On Gambling
Gambling, in a wide variety of societies, is associated with religious practices and mythology. A second topic is the religious, spiritual, and magical dimensions of gambling in modern Western societies. Notions of luck and fate will be discussed, as well as dissociative and transcendental experiences induced by intense gambling. However, little research has addressed the impact of religious practices or beliefs on gambling behavior or problems. This study uses a nation - ally representative sample of adults in the U.S. (n=2,406) to test the proposition that attendance at religious services and importance offaith in God attenuate the likelihood of problem.
Many people who enjoy gambling as a form of entertainment don’t often think about the ethical or moral implications of their pastime.
However, over the past century, as gambling has become legalized in various places around the world, people have paid more attention to what the world’s great religions have to say regarding gambling.
There was a time in the United States when Christian churches, along with a few Jewish synagogues in more enlightened communities, typically held moral authority in society.
In today’s global society, however, there’s hardly any nation on the face of the planet that has only one faith influencing its common ethics. Thus it’s necessary to look at the world’s five great religions to understand how people approach the question of whether gambling is a sin, and why.
Judaism and Gambling The Jewish religion traces is origins to the covenant made with God by the biblical patriarch, Abraham, who is also revered in Islam as the founder of its faith.
A brief survey of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism finds that rarely does God speak directly about the human practice of gambling. For example, since Buddhists don’t believe in a divine being at all, it’s unlikely that there would be a word from “God” on the subject.
At the other end of the spectrum are the millions of Hindus in the world, some of whom believe in one supreme divine being and many of whom believe in hundreds of gods. Which god would be the authority about gambling?
Hence, it’s advisable to take a look at the beliefs of each major religion to get a sense of how its adherents view the practice of gambling as a social phenomenon. This is particularly important for countries in North America, which has experienced an influx of Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
The following exploration takes these faith groups in chronological order, according to their emergence in human society.
Hinduism and Gambling
According to the website, Die Hard Indian, Hinduism is the world’s only major religion without a specific founder or a single authoritative scripture. As the major religion of India, Hinduism is practiced by approximately 80 percent of the country’s 1-billion-plus citizens. Its roots extend back to practices dating to 1000 BC.
As mentioned earlier, some Hindus believe in a single supreme deity, while others believe in many gods. The concept of “sin” in Hinduism is bound up in the idea known as “karma.”
Most Westerners can understand karma as “what goes around, comes around.” In other words, Hindus believe that one lives a virtuous life in order to escape the cycle of reincarnation, in which one’s deeds in a previous life determine one’s status in the next, until one becomes so virtuous as to achieve nirvana, or spiritual oblivion. Those who suffer in the current life are suffering to make amends for their past misdeeds.
One ironic outcome of karma is that until recently, there was little charity to the less fortunate, because to assist someone in a destitute condition was seen as interfering with that person’s karma, thus endangering one’s own.
However, over the past century, the compassion of the great spiritual leader, Mahatma Gandhi, for the lowest classes of Indian society both Hindu and Muslim, has lifted the virtuous status charity for others.
Hinduism’s view of gambling thus is conditioned by the ideas of karma and reincarnation. Gambling is specifically forbidden according to the most ascetic Hindu practices, while less stringent sects tend to look at the motivations and outcomes of gambling to determine its morality. In general, gambling for entertainment would be frowned upon.
Buddhism and Gambling
Buddhism is an offshoot of Hinduism traced to its founder, Siddhartha Gautama, known as the Buddha, “The Enlightened One.” The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent sometime between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE. His teachings spread throughout Asia and evolved into two main sects, with many different subcategories practiced by today’s 500 million adherents.
In general, Buddhism does not believe in the existence of a supreme divine being, so there is no “god” in Buddhism to ask about the sinfulness of gambling. However, Buddhism incorporates some of the concepts of Hinduism such as reincarnation and karma, with the ultimate spiritual goal again being release from the cycle of reincarnation.
In essence, the beliefs of Buddhism center on the Four Noble Truths about human suffering and how to alleviate it through a set of spiritual and ethical practices known as the Eightfold Path.
Among Buddha’s teachings, there is a definite recommendation against gambling related to the suffering it causes in human society. This teaching comes from a sacred Buddhist text known as “Sigalovada Sutta: The Layman’s Code of Discipline.” The Sigalovada Sutta is the 31st Sutta, or chapter, described in the Digha Nikaya (“Long Discourses of Buddha”). This is the teaching attributed to Buddha:
There are, young householder, these six evil consequences in indulging in gambling:
- The winner begets hate,
- The loser grieves for lost wealth,
- The loss of wealth,
- His word is not relied upon in a court of law,
- He is despised by his friends and associates,
- He is not sought after for matrimony; for people would say he is a gambler and is not fit to look after a wife.
Judaism and Gambling
The Jewish religion traces is origins to the covenant made with God by the biblical patriarch, Abraham, who is also revered in Islam as the founder of its faith. Judaism is held to be the world’s first monotheistic religion, in which divine authority is vested in a single supernatural being who takes a personal, direct interest in humanity’s destiny. Today there are an estimated 18 million Jews who practice this faith.
The Jews gave world civilization one of its finest sets of moral and ethical laws in what is known today as the Ten Commandments. Some of the concepts in the Law, as it’s known in Judaism, reflect similar views from Middle Eastern cultures such as that of the Babylonians, where the Code of Hammurabi was the first to uphold protection of the most vulnerable. The aim of the Law is to create a lasting society based on personal and collective religious virtue.
Over the centuries, the Jews evolved a communal way of determining morality and ethics through a series of religious authorities known as rabbis. These successive academies of religious scholars debated moral and ethical issues together and issued their views in a compilation known as the Talmud.
Regarding gambling, the Talmud records that the rabbis take a dim view of the practice. They condemn gambling as both a risky financial enterprise as well as a pastime with the potential to be addictive, leading men to abandon life’s responsibilities. From a moral perspective, the Talmud holds gambling to be a sin because the loser in gambling wasn’t expecting to lose. In other words, the loser has his money taken from him reluctantly, almost like stealing, and he gains nothing tangible for his efforts.
Furthermore, says the Talmud, gambling of any kind gives only an illusion of contributing value to a local economy. Ultimately gambling produces nothing of enduring value for the community.
Christianity and Gambling
The world’s 2.2 billion Christians look to the teachings of their Lord, Jesus Christ, for guidance in contemporary life. However, Jesus said little specifically about gambling. However, as an itinerant Jewish rabbi who was believed to have lived and taught somewhere around the first century CE, Jesus had lots to say about money and its uses. It’s important to understand the historical context of Jesus’ time to understand the background of his teachings about money.
The Palestine of Jesus’ era was an occupied part of the Roman Empire. Except for the few in the elite of society, most Jews and their non-Jewish neighbors in the region lived poor, rural lives and were expected to work their farms and herds solely for the benefit of their Roman oppressors. Taxes were high and their lives were full of suffering.
Into this reality came Jesus of Nazareth. Instead of taking up social or political authority based on wealth, as most Jews expected of their Messiah, he taught his followers that the acquisition of money was not the ultimate goal of life. Instead, he taught that loving God and loving one’s neighbor as oneself were the pinnacles of human existence.
In Matthew 6:24 of the New Testament, Jesus proclaims, “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.” He brought this concept to life later when he attacked the tables of the moneychangers in the outer courts of the Temple in Jerusalem. The moneychangers were key to the Temple’s economy, because they exchanged foreign coins for temple coins, and they sold the sacrificial animals used in Jewish religious rites. Christians believe that Jesus’ action was among many that led eventually to his death on the cross, and his Resurrection by God.
Second- and third-generation followers of Jesus wrote down his teachings about the evils of the love of money. Two of the faith’s earliest texts, 1 Timothy 6:10 and Hebrews 13:5, both cautioned believers “the love of money is the root of all evil.” Therefore, since gambling is clearly based upon a love of money and the promise of quick, easy riches, Christians for centuries have condemned it. However, there exist today many views among Christians as to what constitutes gambling, and whether God can “redeem” money won through gambling if it is given to a church.
Today, one of the most active American denominations working against legalized gambling is The United Methodist Church. The United Methodist Board of Church and Society, its social action arm, categorizes gambling with “other addictions,” while the church’s highest legislative authority, the General Conference, gives what may be the best contemporary definition of the New Testament teaching that the love of money is the root of all evil:
“Gambling, as a means of acquiring material gain by chance and at the neighbor’s expense, is a menace to personal character and social morality. Gambling fosters greed and stimulates the fatalistic faith in chance. Organized and commercial gambling is a threat to business, breeds crime and poverty, and is destructive to the interests of good government. It encourages the belief that work is unimportant, that money can solve all our problems, and that greed is the norm for achievement. It serves as a ‘regressive tax’ on those with lower income. In summary, gambling is bad economics; gambling is bad public policy; and gambling does not improve the quality of life.” (2004 Book of Resolutions, “Gambling,” ¶203)
Islam and Gambling
Although it traces its roots to Ishmael, the son of Abraham by his slave Hagar, Islam is the youngest of the world’s great religions, held to have begun when the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) received the divine revelations contained in The Holy Qu’ran in CE 610. Today there are some 1.6 billion followers of Islam known as Muslims, meaning “obedient to God.”
In Islam, there are two types of deeds: “halal,” meaning lawful according the Prophet’s precepts, and “haram,” meaning sinful to such an extent that engaging in it would result in punishment under Islamic law. Gambling is one of the deeds that are considered haram in Islam.
According to Muslim sources, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), the founder of Islam, and his companions were opposed to any form of gambling – card games, horse racing, gambling machines, or a lottery.
The sacred text of Islam, The Holy Qur’an, says: “O ye who believe! Intoxicants and gambling, (dedication of) stones, and (divination by) arrows, are an abomination, – of Satan’s handwork: eschew such (abomination), that ye may prosper. Satan’s plan is (but) to excite enmity and hatred between you, with intoxicants and gambling, and hinder you from the remembrance of God, and from prayer: will ye not then abstain?” (Sura Ma’idah 5:90,91).
Islam primarily forbids gambling because it takes away someone’s money without actually earning it. The gambler puts forth no effort whatsoever in order to win the money. Since the money was accumulated through the gamble money of other gamblers, taking the winning money without giving any contributions back to the contributors (other gamblers) would be no different from stealing, a view similar to that of Judaism.
Muslims also hold the same view as Jews about the addictive nature of gambling as destructive to the security of family and society. As a Muslim website says: “Since Islam is all about peace and the building of families, the act [of gambling] would go against the very core of the religion.”
Conclusion
Clearly, all the world’s great religious faiths hold gambling to be wasteful at the least, and at the worst to be an action that harms human society and offends God, i.e., a sin.
It’s doubtful the extent to which these religious beliefs have any influence over non-believers who engage regularly in gambling, or who earn their livelihoods through gambling. However, the traditions and teachings of the majority of the world’s religions certainly hold some sway over their adherents, billions of people around the globe who abstain from gambling as an expression of their devotion to their faith.
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Home > Morality
Gambling or'gaming' for stakes is becoming increasingly popular. Aperson can bet by lottery, casino, poker, slot machines, raffles,office pools, sports wagers, or online betting. But is gambling moral or immoralaccording to the Bible?
Should a Christian gamble? What does theBible say? What about gambling addiction?
Clickhere to listen to this material as a free recorded Bible sermon.
Introduction:
Gambling is big business.
Consider the following facts:
* Nearly all states allow some form of legalized 'gaming.'Many allow legal casinos and even more have a lottery. Inaddition, much gambling is still illegal.
* Americans gamble more money each year than they spend ongroceries!
* In Mississippi more money is spent on betting than on allretail sales combined.
* 85% of young people have already become gamblers.
* Usually the people who gamble the most are the people whocan afford it the least: the poor and the elderly.
[All statistics cited are from Dr. James Dobson, who served onthe National Gambling Impact Study Commission, whose report wasissued in 1999.]
The purpose of this study is to consider whether or notgambling is morally acceptable.
We hope to discuss what constitutes gambling and what theteaching of Jesus Christ says regarding its moral significance.Since the Bible is the highest moral standard ever known, andsince it reveals the will of the God who created us all, we willappeal to it as the supreme standard (2 Tim. 3:16,17; 1 Cor. 14:37;John 17:17; Matt. 7:21-27).
Note: The following study was written primarily towarn people about the dangers of gambling. For those who already know thedangers of the problem and are looking for Bible information to help theovercome it, we suggest you read our free articles about How to Change Yourself (Self-improvement) and You Can Serve God Successfully. See other helpful articles in thelinks at the end of this article.
Part I: What Gambling Is
A. Definition of Gambling
In this study 'gambling' refers to a wager or bet inwhich each player agrees to risk losing some material possessionto other players in exchange for the chance to win thepossessions of other players without compensation to the loser,the winner(s) and loser(s) being determined by the outcome of agame.
Please note four essential elements of gambling in thisdefinition:
1. A game of chance or skill - any event of uncertainoutcome.
This may be a game the gamblers play among themselves or maybe some event that would have occurred anyway (such as theoutcome of an election or sports event).
2. The stakes
Each player places at risk some possession of material value.
3. The agreement (wager or bet)
Before the game each player agrees to risklosing his possession in exchange for the opportunity to take thepossessions of others, depending on the outcome of the game.
4. Lack of fair compensation
No goods or services of fair value are given in exchange forwhat is lost. The loser will give up his possessions withoutbeing recompensed, and the winner will gain possessions withoutrepaying the loser.
B. Activities That Are Not Gambling
People sometimes confuse the issue by claiming that certainacts are gambling, even though some essential elements ofgambling are missing.
Crossing the street, driving a car
Some people say, 'Everything in life involves a gamble.'This confuses risk with gambling. Not all risks involve gambling.These acts involve no wager and no stakes. There is no agreementto try to take someone else's possessions.
Games without stakes or bets
The same games, on which people sometimes bet, can be playedsimply for fun with no possessions put at risk. This too is notgambling.
Farming, owning a business, etc.
Some say this is gambling because one risks losing money. Butagain there is no wager, but there is compensation. There is noagreement to take other people's property without compensation.The intent is to produce goods or services of benefit to othersin exchange for that which benefits us. This is expresslyauthorized in Scripture.
Investing in stock
Some say this is gambling, but what is stock? Stock is a meansfor people to become part owners of a company. Buying stock is nomore inherently gambling than is ownership of any other business.The intent is to make a profit by producing something of benefitto customers. Investors receive their share of these profits inthe form of dividends or increases in the value of the stock.
Religious Views On Gambling Money
Further, when stock is sold, both buyer and seller agree onthe price. There is no wager - no prior agreement to risk loss atanother's expense. If either thinks the price is unfair, theyrefuse to deal. (It may be possible to gamble or otherwise sin inthe stock market, but buying stock does not inherently constitutegambling.)
Buying insurance
Some think insurance is gambling. But again, there is no wagerand there is compensation. No one agrees to gain at the expenseof someone else's loss. On the contrary, the whole purpose ofinsurance is to compensate the insured if he does have a loss (suchas death, car wreck, hospitalization, etc.). If no such lossoccurs, the customer has purchased the peace of mind of knowinghe would have been compensated if he had experienced a loss.Regardless of whether or not this is a wise investment, the pointhere is that it is not gambling.
In short, none of these examples constitute gambling, since noone necessarily wants uncompensated losses to occur. Butthe gambler always wants financial loss to occur, because hehopes to profit from those losses.
C. Activities That Are Gambling
In the following examples, all the elements of gambling arepresent.
* Casino gambling: slot machines, roulette wheels, dice andcard games, numbers games, etc., played for stakes.
* Racetrack betting on horses, dogs.
* Lotteries.
* Charity and church-sponsored bingo, raffles, etc. If someonesays, 'It's for a good cause,' then just make adonation and skip the gambling!
* Bazaar and fair booths where you pay to spin a wheel and tryto win a prize, etc.
* Amateur gambling including poker games for money, officepools, matching quarters for cokes or coffee, playing marbles forkeeps. Also included are some athletic leagues where winners arenot just awarded a trophy or plaque, but players put money into a'kitty' then play to try to win some of the money.
Even if small amounts of money are involved, such activitiesstill violate Bible principles. Further, they establish aprecedent that makes it impossible for one to consistently objectto other people's gambling. Where do you draw the line and say,'This much money risked is all right, but any more isimmoral?'
Part II: Objections to Gambling
The word 'gamble' is not found in the Bible, yet thepractice violates Bible principles regardless of the amount ofmoney involved.
A. Rules for Transfer of Property
The Bible authorizes only three morally legitimate ways formoney or possessions to pass from one owner to another. Gamblingfits none of them.
1. The law of labor ('the work ethic')
One may be paid as compensation for work done to produce goodsor services that benefit other people. Scripture strongly teachesthis 'work ethic.'
1 Timothy 5:18 - The laborer is worthy of his wages. [Luke 10:7]
Ephesians 4:28 - Do not steal but labor at good (beneficial)work.
1 Thessalonians 4:11,12 - To meet our needs, we should do ourown business and work for an income (not take what other peopleearned). [Matt. 20:1-15; James 5:4]
2 Thessalonians 3:10-12 - Like Paul, people should work sothey can eat their own bread (not other people's bread). If theywill not work, they should not eat.
We must not try to live off the labors of others. We canexpect goods or services from others only as compensation forwork we do that produces something of benefit (that which is good- Eph. 4:28). Gambling undermines the Biblical work ethicbecause, instead of accomplishing productive labor that benefitsothers, the gambler seeks to get something for nothing by takingwhat other people have earned.
If someone claims that gamblers must work to win, we respondthat this is not the labor described in these verses, because itproduces nothing of benefit to others. Instead it attempts totake what others have, without compensating them. A thief alsomust do some labor; but such 'work' is forbiddenbecause it is harmful to others, not beneficial. If gambling wereScriptural labor, then all gamblers should be paid because allare laboring to win.
Someone may argue, 'Gamblers are just paying for a formof entertainment.' However, in legitimate entertainment theentertainers are paid a predetermined fee for providing a serviceto others. But gamblers are all providing the same 'service'for one another; so if gambling were legitimate entertainment,then all participants should be paid or all should pay. Thegambler does not want the other players to profit; he wants toprofit at their expense! This violates the principle that thelaborer is worthy of his hire.
Gambling undermines the work ethic and leads people to seek toprofit by causing loss to others.
(Other scriptures are: 1 Cor. 9:7-10; Gen. 3:17-19; Prov. 31:24;Acts 18:3.)
2. The law of exchange
A person may simply agree to exchange possessions (goods ormoney) with someone else. Each party is paid or fairlycompensated by receiving possessions of fair value in return forwhat he gives up. Bible examples are:
Genesis 23:1-18 - Abraham bought a field and a cave for money.
Matthew 13:45,46 - A merchant sold possessions to buy a pearl.
John 4:8 - Disciples bought food.
Note that, in a fair transaction, both parties receive whatthey view as fair value compared to what they give up. Neitherparty should attempt to take other people's property withoutgiving fair value in exchange. But again gambling does not fithere, because the winner has no intention to compensate the loser.In fact, each gambler hopes other people will lose so he can taketheir property, while at the same time he hopes no one will takehis property. This violates the law of exchange.
(Other passages: Gen. 33:19; Prov. 31:16; Acts 4:34,37.)
3. The law of giving
A person may knowingly choose, of his own free will, tounconditionally give something away as an expression of good willor kindness, with no obligation for the receiver to offer anycompensation in return. Bible examples are:
Ephesians 4:28 - One who has earned goods by his own labor maychoose to give to others in need.
2 Corinthians 9:6,7 - We should give willingly and cheerfully,not grudgingly. Note: If gambling fits this, then we should allgamble bountifully!
Acts 20:35 - It is more blessed to give than to receive. Dogamblers consider giving to be more blessed than receiving?
1 John 3:17,18; 1 Corinthians 13:3 - Giving must be motivatedby love, compassion, and desire to help others. Is this whatmotivates gamblers? No, they agree to give (if they lose) onlybecause they want to win what others possess!
Again, gambling does not fit this category because gamblers donot give willingly, freely, as an act of love or compassion.
(Other passages: Matt. 19:21; 25:35; 2:11; Acts 2:45; 4:34,35)
God authorizes three legitimate ways for people to obtainproperty from others. Gambling not only does not fit any of them,but it clearly contradicts and undermines them. Hence, it is amorally illegitimate way of obtaining others' possessions. If itdoes not fit these categories, then what category does it fit?Consider the next point.
B. Covetousness and Greed
The Bible repeatedly warns against greed and covetousness.
Ephesians 5:5-7; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 - Those who covet willnot receive the kingdom of God, but God's wrath abides on them.
Romans 1:29-32 - They are worthy of death, and so are thosewho approve or encourage their conduct.
1 Corinthians 5:11 - Church members who practice it should bedisciplined.
(See also Deut. 5:21; Mark 7:20-23; 1 Tim. 6:6-10; 2 Tim. 3:2;Prov. 1:19; 21:26; 15:27; Heb. 13:5.)
What is covetousness and greed?
In general covetousness is the desire to wrongfully takesomeone else's property. It is 'a desire for the increasingof one's substance by appropriating that of others' (Baker'sDictionary of Theology). So a person is covetous if he wantsto take other people's property in a way not authorized by God.
Note some Bible passages.
Acts 20:33-35 - Paul did not covet other people's property butwas willing to work to earn what he needed. So covetousnesscontrasts with the legitimate means for obtaining the property ofothers. Clearly gambling fits the definition of covetousness.
2 Corinthians 9:5-7 - If a person is compelled to giveproperty against his will ('grudgingly or of necessity'),instead of cheerfully out of generosity, this is here called'covetousness' (v5 - KJV). A legitimate gift involveswillingly choosing to give as a gesture of good will and kindness.
If we seek to take someone else's property which he reallydoes not want to give, while at the same time we seek to avoidgiving him fair compensation in return, that would becovetousness. Yet this is exactly what gambling involves.
Efforts to rationalize gambling
Someone may say, 'Gamblers agree to pay up if they lose,so they do give it willingly.' But it is not done in thespirit of good will that the Bible describes, else why does thegambler try to keep others from taking his possessions?
The truth is, gambling is mutual covetousness like dueling ismutual attempted murder. In dueling, each person agrees to letthe other person try to kill him in exchange for the opportunityto try to kill the other person. But killing would still beunauthorized regardless of the agreement (Romans 13:8-10). So agambler agrees to let others try to take his possessions inexchange for the opportunity for him to try to take the otherperson's possessions. And it is still covetousness, just likedueling is still attempted murder. The agreement simply makesboth parties guilty of sin!
Someone else may say, 'It's just a friendly game. Wedon't really care whether we win or lose the money.' Aprofessional gambler once told me that people gamble, not to makemoney, but for the thrill, the high, the excitement.
Have these folks been listening to the advertisements? Thepeople who provide the gambling know that people do care aboutthe money, and that's the way they advertise it.
If people don't gamble for the money, why not leave the moneyout of it and just play for fun? If you say, 'the moneymakes it more exciting,' then I ask why so, if you don'tcare about the money! The only possible reason why the moneymakes it more exciting, is that gamblers do care about the money!So the money does matter, and therefore gambling really iscovetousness.
When a person wants to take someone else's property that theyreally don't want to give and without returning fair value inexchange, that person is guilty of covetousness. And that isexactly what the gambler does.
C. The Principle of Stewardship
We are stewards of possessions that belong to God.
1 Peter 4:10,11 - We are stewards of God's manifold blessingsand should use these blessings to glorify God 'in all things.'A steward is a servant who has been entrusted to use his master'sproperty to achieve the master's purposes. The master will judgethe steward for how well he used the property. [Luke 12:42-46; 2Chron. 28:1; 1 Cor. 4:1,2]
Psalm 24:1,2; 50:10-12 - Material property is part of ourstewardship in that God ultimately owns all physical things buthas entrusted them to us.
1 Timothy 6:9,10,17-19 - Instead of being greedy and lovingphysical things, we should use them to accomplish God's purposes.This includes providing for the needs of ourselves and ourfamilies, giving to the church, preaching the gospel, and helpingthe needy. Our material possessions are not ours to use as weplease. We must use them to do God's will and then give accountto Him for our use of them.
[Haggai 2:8; 1 Chron. 29:11-14; Acts 4:32-35; 1 John 2:15-17;Deut. 10:14]
The gambler is an unfaithful steward.
Luke 16:1,2 - Instead of using the Master's possessions forthe intended purpose, the unfaithful steward wastes them or riskslosing them for selfish purposes. This is exactly what thegambler does. [Matthew 25:14-30]
To illustrate, suppose you give some money to a friend forsafekeeping. But then, without your permission, he uses yourmoney as his stakes for gambling. Whether he won or lost, wouldyou not confront him for misusing your money? For his own self-indulgencehe risked losing what belonged to you.
But every gambler gambles with money that belongs to Godwithout His permission. He wastes his master's substance andrisks losing it in unauthorized activities for his ownselfishness. God will hold him accountable.
D. The Law of Love
Matthew 22:39 - The second greatest command is 'love yourneighbor as yourself.' Does the gambler love his neighbor ashe loves himself?
Luke 6:27; 1 John 3:16-18 - Loves leads us to do good, notharm, even to our enemies. Note that coveting violates the law oflove because it does harm our neighbor (Romans 13:8-10). Lovedoes not seek to profit by taking what belongs to others againsttheir will and without compensation. But the very essence ofgambling is hoping other people will lose, so you can profit attheir loss.
Matthew 7:12 - Do to others as you want them to do to you.Does the gambler want the other players to take his possessions?No! Then he must not try to take theirs! By definition, gamblingviolates the law of love because a gambler tries to do to otherswhat he does not want them to do to him.
1 Corinthians 13:5 - Love seeketh not its own.
Philippians 2:4 - We should seek, not just our own interests,but the interests of others. Gambling, by its nature, is selfishand self-seeking. The gambler seeks personal gain and profit bytaking other people's possessions without requiting them. Such iscompletely contrary to love.
E. A Root of Evil
A Bible principle
1 Timothy 6:9,10 - Love of money is a root of all kinds ofevil. Greed leads to many foolish and hurtful lusts, manysorrows, etc. If gambling is greed, as we have claimed, then weshould expect to find it associated with all kinds of sin andimmorality.
Matthew 7:16-19 - A tree is known by its fruits. A corrupttree will surely produce corrupt fruits. If so, it should bedestroyed (v19). Hence, if gambling produces many forms of evil,this will confirm our conclusion that gambling is evil of itself.
The fruits caused by and associated with gambling
* Poverty, neglect of families, quarreling, and divorcebecause gamblers often gamble with money the family needs.
One out of every five homeless people admit that gamblingcontributed to their poverty. Among the states Nevada, long knownfor gambling, has the highest rate of divorce and the highestrate of high school dropouts. Even casino owner Donald Trumpadmitted: 'People will spend a tremendous amount of money incasinos, money that they would normally spend on buying arefrigerator or a new car.'
And interestingly, about one third of all millionaire lotterywinners end up in poverty again afterward!
* Anger, hatred, and even murder directed by the losersagainst the winners, especially if the losers think they havebeen cheated.
* Drinking and drugs, alcoholism and addiction. Thesealways abound where gambling occurs. Gamblers who lose seek todrown their sorrow and guilt. One tenth of all southern Nevadansare alcoholics.
* Lying because gamblers seek to hide their habit andtheir losses.
* Crime - Much gambling is illegal. Gambling of allkinds attracts criminal types and is often sponsored by organizedcrime syndicates. Gamblers often deal drugs, embezzle, or stealto get money to gamble or to pay gambling debts.
* Influence on government - Why don't lawmakers outlawgambling? It provides government money without raising taxes. Butmore importantly, the overwhelming majority of both Republicansand Democrats receive major campaign contributions from gamblinginterests.
* Prostitution, lasciviousness, and general sexualimmorality because of the immoral entertainment provided ingambling houses, and because many women use these means to getmoney to gamble or to pay gambling debts. The Las Vegas YellowPages list 136 pages of advertisements relating to prostitution.
* Suicide as an escape from compulsive gambling or fromhuge losses. Nevada is first in the nation in suicides.
Truly, 'by their fruits ye shall know them,' and'the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.'
F. Temptation and Evil Influence
Religious Views On Gambling Issues
Like drinkers and drug abusers, gamblers begin by thinkingthey can avoid the dangers involved. But participation lures themin deeper and subjects them to the moral dangers associated withgambling. Is it worth the risk?
Note some passages that warn us to avoid taking such risks forthe sake of our own self-indulgence.
1 Timothy 6:9 - Those who love money (v10) and are minded tobe rich fall into temptation, a snare, and many foolish andhurtful lusts. Surely no one can deny that temptation isassociated with gambling.
Matthew 6:13; 26:41 - We should pray to avoid evil andtemptation. Watch and pray lest you enter into temptation. Is itright to pray to avoid temptation and then deliberately subjectourselves to it, simply for the sake of passing pleasure? NoteJames 4:3; Matthew 18:6-9.
1 Corinthians 15:33 - Evil companions corrupt good morals. Yetall gambling puts us in the company of evil men and tempts us toparticipate in other sins.
Proverbs 13:20 - Keeping company with wise men will make uswise, but associating with morally and spiritually foolish peoplewill cause us to suffer. [24:1,2]
Surely the gambler is running with the wrong crowd, subjectinghimself to temptation exactly like these passages forbid. Manypeople will be lost eternally because of gambling's influence.Why submit ourselves to the danger?
G. Example and Influence
Gamblers not only sin and tempt themselves to sin, they alsotempt others to sin.
Consider these passages.
1 Timothy 4:12 - Set a good example in word, manner of life,love, faith, and purity. Does the gambler set this kind ofexample?
Matthew 5:13-16 - Our lives should be like a light so othersmay see our good works and glorify God. Who will glorify God fromseeing you gamble?
Matthew 18:6,7 - Woe to one who tempts others to sin. It isbetter to be drowned than to be guilty of this.
Whom does the gambler tempt to sin?
* Young people - As with smoking, drinking, and drugabuse, most gamblers start young because of the influence ofothers: friends, relatives, older people they respect. If yougamble, your example may lead some young person to start orcontinue gambling.
He may then become trapped in the sins involved in andassociated with gambling. If so, you will also be heldresponsible for his fate. Do you want this on your conscience?
* Reformed compulsive gamblers - As with alcoholics anddrug addicts, when a compulsive gambler quits, he must neveragain return to the practice or he immediately becomes an addictagain. If he sees or knows you gamble, your example encourageshim to try the practice again. If he does, he is immediatelyaddicted again. And you are responsible.
* Non-Christians - Many people who are not Christiansknow that gambling is very un-Christlike. If you gamble, you maynever be able to lead them
to hear the soul-saving gospel. Yet the Bible plainlyobligates you to do all you can to help other people be saved (1Corinthians 8-10). The gambler will never be a successful soul-saver(Prov. 11:30).
No one gambles alone. If you gamble, you must gamble withothers. So every gambler has a bad influence on someone. The onlyway to avoid this problem is simply to avoid gambling altogether.
Conclusion
We may consider other points regarding gambling. Much gamblingis illegitimate. And those who begin gambling legally often endup gambling illegally, because they become desensitized andbecause the odds are better. But Christians must obey civil law (Romans13:1-7; 1 Peter 2:13-15). Also, many young people gamble inviolation of their parents' will (Ephesians 6:1; Romans 1:29-32).Many gamblers know that their marriage companion strongly objects.Is this the proper, loving way to treat a spouse (Ephesians 5:22-29)?
Finally, we must imitate the example of Jesus (1 Peter 2:21,22;Matthew 10:24,25; 1 Corinthians 11:1). Can you honestly imagineJesus playing a slot machine or roulette wheel or betting on adice or poker game? Honestly now, does gambling harmonize withthe example of Jesus and the teaching of His word?
Note: If you would like to study further about related Bibletopics, we have a number of other study materials on our web sitethat should interest you. Please see the links listed below.
(C) Copyright 1985, 2002, David E. Pratte
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