Gambling is something the traditional church has always stood against; and I might add, the more legalistic the church, the more strongly they have stood against it. Many of these churches and the people who attend them call gambling a sin, even though the Bible has nothing to say about the subject.
That’s right; the Bible doesn’t directly say that gambling is a sin. That doesn’t mean that it’s okay either. There are things the Bible says, which can clearly be applied to gambling, showing that although God may not consider the gambling itself to be a sin, it leads to a number of actions and attitudes which are considered to be sin. They may not be sin for all people, as gambling affects different people differently; but for some people, they are clearly sin.
To start with, let’s define gambling. Gambling is wagering something of value, usually money, on a random event, in the hopes that one will win something of greater value. All gambling includes elements of chance, risk and a prize. Games of chance, which some people consider a different category, include some element of skill on the part of the person putting up the money; but there is still much which is beyond the individual’s control. For our purposes, card games, such as poker might involve some element of skill, but are still gambling because of the element of chance involved. On the other hand, a side-bet on arm wrestling might fall outside our definition, because it is based on the wrestler’s strength and skill. Yet for those not involved in the actual wrestling, it is gambling.
If Arnold Schwarzenegger were to arm wrestle with Mr. Bean, it would seem obvious who would win. Arnold weighs in at 235 pounds and has been a professional body-builder for much of his life. Not only does he outweigh Mr. Bean by over 50 pounds, that 50 pounds and a whole lot more is solid muscle, trained for maximum strength. Even so, if Arnold had a heart attack in the midst of the contest, an unlikely but possible occurrence, Mr. Bean could still beat him.
The point is, no matter how much people pretend that they can figure out “winning odds” they are still odds; at best, they are a statistical chance and nothing more. Even “systems” that people use to try and beat the casinos are based on nothing more than statistical chance. The casino owners know these statistics as well and do everything in their power to keep people from using them to their advantage. One way they do this is by limiting how people place their bets, taking away the statistical advantage that those “systems” are depending on. If nothing else, they can always use their trump card and kick someone using those methods to their advantage out of the casino.
Not all gambling happens in casinos though. There’s a lot that happens privately, from office football pools to a small group of guys getting together to play poker. We can even put bingo into this mix, although there are some churches that benefit from the proceeds of bingo games. The lack of a professional gambling venue doesn’t make it any less gambling, it just lowers the stakes.
Gambling in the Bible
Although the Bible doesn’t actually talk about gambling, there are a number of places in the Bible, where people “cast lots” to make a decision. Such things happened in both the Old and New Testaments. This wasn’t gambling, as there was no money involved and they were depending on God to control the outcome, giving them an answer to an important question.
The “Urim and Thummim” mentioned in the Old Testament were used for this purpose. We don’t actually know what those were, as the Bible is not specific about their appearance or use, although it does say that they are to be carried by the High Priest in his breastplate (Exodus 28:30). Most theologians think they were two stones; one black and the other white. The High Priest would supposedly ask God a question and then reach in his breastplate, pulling out one of the stones. If he pulled out the white one, the answer from God was “yes,” but if he pulled out the black one, the answer was “no.”
While there is no mention of the Urim and Thummim being used in the New Testament, the apostle did “cast lots” to chose a replacement for Judas, restoring their number to 12.
And they proposed two: Joseph called Barsabbas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. 24 And they prayed and said, “You, O Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which of these two You have chosen 25 to take part in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.” 26 And they cast their lots, and the lot fell on Mathias. And he was numbered with the eleven apostles. – Acts 1:23-26
What’s Wrong with Gambling
If we want to take an honest look at gambling, from a Biblical point of view, we have to look for what is included in the gambling, which can be considered to be against the teachings of the Bible. I would venture to guess that most people who gamble don’t think about these things; but that doesn’t make them disappear, it just hides them from those people’s sight.
Greed
Gambling is always about greed. It’s about the love of money. At its core, it’s about getting something, without having to work for it. The Apostle Paul wrote to his son in the faith, Timothy about this:
But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lust which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. – 1 Timothy 6:9-10
There’s some very important wisdom included in these two verses; wisdom that most people overlook, because they think they know what they say. But more often than not, those verses are misquoted.
To start with, right at the beginning it talks about the “desire to be rich” saying that it causes people to fall into temptation. That’s not saying that the rich are evil or that they have already fallen into a snare. Some people are rich because they worked for it. Others are rich because of inheritance. But it’s not being rich that makes anyone evil, it’s the desire to be rich that leads people to do foolish and even sinful things. Those things eventually lead to the individual’s destruction.
Gambling holds out the promise of riches, without having to put forth the effort that it takes to earn a superior college degree or build a business. That, by any definition, is greed, not the politically popular definition, which states that rich people are greedy, because they have more than they need.
Anyone can be greedy, regardless of their financial status. They can be rich, poor or somewhere in the middle. What makes them greedy is a desire for riches for riches sake. It has nothing to do with what they need, just what they want. Based on that definition, the wealthy person can be greedy or not, just as the beggar on the street can be greedy because he wants what the wealthy man has.
The other important thing in this verse, which is often misquoted, is that it is not “money is the root of all evil” as many people say; but rather, “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” Money itself is neither good nor bad; but loving it can be bad, mostly because of the things that loving it will cause people to do; things that they shouldn’t do. It doesn’t say that money is the root of all evil, because there are other roots; money is just a common root, one that leads to many kinds of evil.
Hurting the Family
Truly, only the wealthy can afford to gamble. They have enough money that they can allocate a certain amount for gambling, with the understanding that they will lose what they gamble. For those people, gambling is a form of entertainment. But they aren’t the majority of the gamblers out there. Most people who gamble, do so with money they can’t afford to lose. In doing that, they may very well be taking away from the necessities of their family, believing that they will win. But they rarely do.
The lottery, a popular form of taxation in the United States today, is clearly a form of gambling. It is based purely on chance, taking money from people at very long odds. The majority of the people who play the lottery are poor, making the lottery a tax on the poor. If social justice warriors want to “make taxes fair” the first thing they should do is abolish the lottery.
A survey by Bankrate found that lottery tickets are purchased disproportionately by people with low incomes. Twenty-eight percent of Americans earning less than $30,000 per year purchase lottery tickets weekly. That adds up to an average of $412 per year, while those who earn $75,000 or more per year, and play the lottery, spend an average of 105 per year on lottery tickets.
What this means is that those families are taking money that they need for other essentials and using it to buy lottery tickets. That’s bad enough when the tickets are one or two dollars each, but many lottery tickets are five, ten or even twenty dollars each now.
These people buy lottery tickets because of the dream that the lottery has held out before their eyes; that of winning and having all their financial problems solved. But the chances of actually winning the Powerball jackpot are only 1 in 292 million. At that rate, the people buying those tickets may as well be using the money to light cigarettes. The lottery with the best possible odds of winning, the Spanish Christmas Lottery, called “El Gordo” (the fat one) has much better odds at 1 in 100,000.
Paul wrote to Timothy:
But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. – 1 Timothy 5:8
Sadly, many of those people who are buying lottery tickets have accepted the lie that they are doing something to provide for their family; that when they win, their family will have everything they need. But the truth is far from that fantasy. The truth is that they are taking away from their family, to give to the government. Regardless of how the government uses that money, those people have already paid their taxes and shouldn’t have to pay again.
Taking what Others Need
Besides taking money out of your own family’s needs, gambling can cause you to take money that others need to meet their family’s needs. Small-scale gambling, like card games with the guys, mean that you either win or lose money. If you lose money, that’s money you don’t have to meet your family’s needs, as we discussed in the section above. But what if you win?
If you win, you’re probably taking money that the other players need, so that they can take care of their family’s needs. While it may not technically be stealing, it works out to be the next closest thing. You probably have no idea of how much that family needs the money or what they need it for. But since the people who gamble like that aren’t wealthy people, you can be sure that you are hurting their family in some way or other.
Where’s Your Faith?
Many people gamble, hoping to win, so that they can meet family needs or buy something they’ve been wanting to buy. That’s not the way God expects us to do things. We are to live by faith in Him, expecting Him to meet our needs.
And my God shall supply all your need according to Him riches in glory by Christ Jesus. – Philippians 4:19
This doesn’t mean that we need to beg God for what we need or that we need to use our faith to try and twist His arm to give us something. Faith isn’t about getting God to do something for us, it’s about us using our faith to obey Him. When we do that, He is able to meet our needs.
The 11th chapter of the Book of Hebrews is known as the ”Great Hall of Faith” for the way that it talks about those who have gone before us and how they used their faith to accomplish that which God told them to do. They didn’t use their faith to get from God; but to obey and serve Him. Yet through that, God ended up providing for their needs. They didn’t have to ask Him, because He already knows what we need.
And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathens do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. – Matthew 6:7-8
Of course, it might be that we’re not gambling because there’s something we need, but rather, something we want. The question then, is whether that thing we want will do us good or do us harm. If God doesn’t want to give it to us, then it’s safe to say that it will do us harm.
Addiction
Gambling has been proven to be an addictive activity for some people, as addictive as drinking, smoking or drugs. Psychiatrists call this “gambling disorder” and it is characterized by an inability to control one’s gambling. People who have gambling addictions will continue gambling, even when it causes them significant problems.
Casino workers have reported people with gambling addiction wearing adult diapers to the casino, so that they don’t have to leave their game or slot machine to go to the bathroom. Many of these people were afraid to lose their places, especially at slot machines, because someone else might win all the money they had put into the machine.
There are a number of even more serious signs of someone having a gambling addiction, such as:
- Lying about their gambling, especially their losses.
- Unsuccessful attempts to quit gambling
- Thinking often about gambling.
- Gambling when they feel stressed or distressed.
- Borrowing money to gamble with.
- Relying on others to take care of financial problems caused by gambling.
- A need to gamble with ever-increasing amounts, in order to achieve the desired level of excitement.
- Returning to try and win back losses.
- Risking or losing important things in one’s life, due to gambling.
I have known strong believers who became addicted to gambling. They started gambling as a recreational activity, but quickly became addicted, due to a desire to win. These people all ended up losing everything, by gambling away their life’s savings and their homes. Once they lost everything financially, their spouses left them, rather than having to live with that addiction.
The Gaming Industry is Dishonest
Those who run casinos, gaming halls, race tracks and other businesses which depend on gambling are based on deceit, even those run by the government. The actual odds of winning are often hidden or misrepresented, while the image of winning is held up for all to see. In doing this, they hide the likelihood of people losing, giving them false hope that they might win.
We can see dishonesty in many of the practices of the gambling industry. For example, many “riverboat casinos” can’t sail. They’re boats in name only; called that, to avoid laws that prevent casinos from being built on land. There are many other dishonest practices, from adjusting slot machines to give the players “near misses” that will egg them on to continue playing, while not paying off.
God despises deceitfulness of all kinds. He will not bless any deceitful activity.
But You, O God, shall bring them down to the pit of destruction; bloodthirsty and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; But I will trust in you. – Psalms 55:23
He who works deceit shall not dwell within my house; he who tells lies shall not continue in my presence. – Psalms 101:7
With this being the case, how can we expect God’s blessings on our lives, if we become involved with something that is based upon deceit? While we may not be guilty of committing deceit ourselves, the Bible also tells us that “Evil company corrupts good habits.” (1 Corinthians 15:33). Just how much of a risk are we taking, with our own lives and our walk with the Lord, by getting involved with gambling?