Proverbs 3:5-6 5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight. (NAU)
Purpose: To show that gambling is contrary to God's will.
Aim: I want the listener to hate the sin of gambling.
INTRODUCTION: While the American economy continues to be in a tailspin, there is one industry that is booming. So far this year 41 of the 50 states have seen large increases in one segment of their economy: legalized gambling. It seems as if more and more people have given up expecting to earn money and are spending money hoping to hit it big.
Is it wrong to buy a lottery ticket? Is the Bible against playing bingo? What if the money goes to the church? Is betting on the horses, or on sports wrong? There are no verses in the Bible that say, "Thou shalt not gamble" so does that mean that gambling is OK?
► I. Why Do People Gamble?
► A. To get rich
"Tomorrow I'll win big! All I need is a little more money." "If I just hang in there and don't give up all of my money problems will be solved."
One in five Americans are now looking to some form of gambling as the answer to their financial problems.
"In inner-city areas, gambling is seen as a 'ticket out of poverty' and a last chance for riches. As such, it preys on the desperation of the poor and its promises are based on lies. When state lotteries are proposed, for example, the public is assured that enormous funds will be generated for education, despite studies showing that after states legalize lotteries they actually reduce spending for education. The promised 'money for schools' has been a scam, just like so much that is associated with the gambling industry." [1]
► B. To have fun
Gambling carries with it the thrill of not knowing for sure what will happen. It can break the monotony of life. To some, there is no greater feeling than the adrenalin rush of risking something for instant wealth.
► C. To escape reality
Gambling is a way to forget problems at home, or at work. It is a way to ignore relationship problems, financial problems, or the fear of work.
► II. What are the Common Results of Gambling?
► A. Recklessness
That is, "easy come, easy go." Losing a lot of money can become no big deal because you can always win it back. It tends to take away a sense of personal responsibility and the need for hard work.
► B. Callousness
Gamblers gradually become indifferent to the needs that others have. It becomes an additive habit that consumes more and more of a person's time and energy.
► C. Financial problems
Money that should have gone to pay bills now goes for gambling.
"Tom A. worked up his courage to speak [at a Gamblers Anonymous meeting] after about 15 minutes; the young man with longish, sun-bleached hair, a denim shirt and an expression of concern that belied his casual appearance talked about making restitution, which is part of the GA's prescription for healing. After the meeting, he spoke about how gambling has ruled his life for almost 20 years.
"'You can stay away from gambling for a long period, then all of a sudden you fall back and it gets worse,' he explained. 'You gamble longer, you gamble more. It starts to affect all aspects of your life. You become what everybody who gambles becomes: You start lying, you start selling everything, you work extra, you borrow money, you do everything possible you can to get the money.'
"For Tom, that ultimately meant embezzling money from his employer....
Case in-point is Deadwood, S.D. It has been less than a decade since the state opened a casino there, and already the town has seen an increase in serious crime of 75 percent and rise in child abuse of 42 percent.
"'Gambling, for all its newfound respectability and acceptance, is ultimately like Las Vegas itself,' the Boston Globe reported last fall. '[It's] an idea and an industry built on sand, a corrosive tax system in disguise. And states that embrace it are turning into gamblers themselves, growing increasingly dependent on its false promise of easy money.'
"...[Tom A. went on to say] 'I was In Keno, I guess, when I turned 21 and I started gambling,' he said. 'It's just like what everybody does when they turn 21, they start drinking. It didn't seem a problem. Of course, right away I enjoyed the gambling and I started losing more than I could afford. Like all gamblers I gambled my check away, then a month would go by and I'd gamble my check away again.'
Gambling cost him a number of jobs, but he was often able to find work again in casinos or on the periphery, in places such as pawn shops. 'When I was working in pawn shops I saw the devastation,' he said. 'I could see that other people had the same problem. They were always getting money to gamble or to pay their bills after gambling. I'd say half the people who frequent pawn shops are looking for money to replace gambling money, money they've already lost.' " [2]
► E. Strained relationships
Gambling often becomes more important than time with family.
1 Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. (NAU)
Clinical symptoms of a compulsive gambler:
1. Gambling is a typical, chronic repetitive experience.
2. Gambling absorbs all other interests like a sponge.
3. A gambler is optimistic about winning and never "learns his lesson" when he loses.
4. A gambler can't stop when he is winning.
5. A gambler will risk more than he can afford to lose.
6. A gambler will seek a thrill which cannot be explained logically. He may actually want to lose so he can feel punished for doing something that he knows is wrong.
"The Cedar Rapids Gazette reported, 'The first thing you notice when you walk in [a casino] is that nobody is smiling. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of faces, and not a happy one in the crowd. The people could be automatons, or the not quite perfect replicas of human beings in `Invasion of the Body Snatchers.' They sit there in front of their machines, going through the motions by rote as though hypnotized, trapped in quiet desperation, vacant expressions on their faces, looking for all the world like the victims of a sweat shop in a union-organizing film. These mind-numbed, slack jawed people sitting at the machines aren't assembly line workers turning out an endless supply of widgets. They are playing slot machines, allegedly having fun, although you'd never guess it by looking at them." [3]
► F. Crime
"Did you know that Americans gamble more money each year than they spend on groceries? Or that more than $600 billion is wagered legally in the United States annually? Or that nearly 1 in 5 homeless people admit that gambling contributed to their poverty, and yet 37 percent said that they continue to gamble? Or that 5 to 8 percent of American adolescents are already addicted to gambling? Or that 75 percent of pathological gamblers admitted that they had committed at least one felony to support their habit? Or that more money is spent on gambling in the state of Mississippi than on all retail sales combined? Or that a decade ago, only New Jersey and Nevada permitted casinos, but now 48 states have legalized some form of gambling? Or that more than 30,000 video poker machines, which are called the 'crack cocaine of gambling,' are scattered through South Carolina, and that the governor who opposed them (David Beasley) was voted out in November? Or that children as young as four years of age can put money in those poker machines legally in South Carolina as long as they don't accept their earnings? Or that the massive Las Vegas casino called 'New York, New York' was completed in 1996, at a cost of $460 million, and more than half of it was paid for in a period of only one year!" [4]
"* A 1996 Mississippi State University study found that poor gamblers lost about 10 percent of their income to gambling. Richer gamblers lost only about 1 percent. Nearly half of the lottery sales in California go to people with incomes below $35,000.
"* Studies show also that compulsive gambling has spread as casinos have become more accessible. The rate of compulsive gambling increased in Minnesota from 2.5 to 4.4 percent from 1990 to 1994. The percentage of problem gamblers in Iowa has increased from 1.7 percent in 1989 to 5.4 percent in 1995.
"* Other studies show that each compulsive gambler affects from 7 to 17 other people; the mean debt of compulsive gamblers ranges from $52,000 to $92,000.
"* Crime increased by 43 percent on the Mississippi Gulf Coast in the four years after casinos arrived. U.S. News and World Report found crime rates in casino communities to be 84 percent higher than the national average. Detroiters need look only to Mt. Pleasant, a college town several hours to the north, to see gambling's effects: Since an Indian casino opened there in 1994, bankruptcies, domestic violence, and substance abuse have all increased sharply." [5]
► III. What Does the Bible Say About Getting Money?
Some people have taught that godly men in the Bible gambled. They quote passages like:
Numbers 26:52-56 and 1 Samuel 10:20-21 where Moses divided up the Promised Land among the different tribes by casting lots.
"LOTS, CASTING OF A way of making decisions in Bible times, similar to drawing straws or casting a pair of dice to determine what course or direction to follow. The word 'lots' occurs 70 times in the Old Testament and seven in the New Testament. Most of the occurrences were in the early period when little of the Bible was available and when God approved of this means for determining His will (Prov. 16:33)." [6]
But, casting of lots cannot be compared to gambling for three reasons.
#1 This was a method for finding God's will. There was no possibility of losing something.
#2 This method was not widely used, and we don't know for sure that Peter should have used this method for picking a new Apostle.
#3 This practice never involved money.
Some of you may be thinking that gambling is only wrong if it is done to excess. So let's see what the Bible does tell us.
► A. God provides money from working or from gifts
Genesis 3:19 By the sweat of your face You will eat bread, Till you return to the ground..." (NAU)
In the 5th Commandment God said: Exodus 20:9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, (NAU)
2 Thessalonians 3:10-12 10 For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either. 11 For we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined life, doing no work at all, but acting like busybodies. 12 Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to work in quiet fashion and eat their own bread. (NAU)
Proverbs 28:19 He who tills his land will have plenty of food, But he who follows empty pursuits will have poverty in plenty. (NAU)
Sometimes others will share their hard earned money with us. Luke 6:38 "Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure--pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return." (NAU)
► B. All our money belongs to God
In fact, everything belongs to God. Psalm 24:1 The earth is the Lord's, and all it contains, The world, and those who dwell in it. (NAU)
Psalm 50:10-12 10 "For every beast of the forest is Mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. 11 I know every bird of the mountains, and everything that moves in the field is Mine. 12 If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is Mine, and all it contains. (NAU)
1 Corinthians 10:26 for the earth is the Lord's, and all it contains. (NAU)
This means that We will give an account of how we use God's resources.
Luke 12:42 And the Lord said, "Who then is the faithful and sensible steward... (NAU)
Matthew 25:14-21 14 For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them. 15 To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey. 16 Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded [i.e. not gambled] with them, and gained five more talents. 17 In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more. 18 But he who received the one talent went away, and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money. [How much worse if he had lost his master's money] 19 Now after a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. 20 The one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have gained five more talents.' 21 His master said to him, Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.' (NAU)
Could the Lord possibly be pleased that you took His money and put it where your chance of being hit by lightening was greater than your chance of making more money?
► IV. Why Does God give us money?
► A. So we can share the Gospel
Luke 16:9--13 "And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by means of the wealth of unrighteousness, so that when it fails, they will receive you into the eternal dwellings. "He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much. "Therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you? "And if you have not been faithful in the use of that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own? "No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth." (NAU)
► B. So we can support our families
Matthew 7:9-11 9 "Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? 10 "Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? 11 "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him! (NAU)
1 Timothy 5:8 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. (NAU)
► C. So others can spread the Gospel
The Temple was supposed to display the glory of God to the world. Nehemiah 10:38-39 38 The priest, the son of Aaron, shall be with the Levites when the Levites receive tithes, and the Levites shall bring up the tenth of the tithes to the house of our God, to the chambers of the storehouse. 39 ... Thus we will not neglect the house of our God. (NAU)
2 Corinthians 9:6-7 6 Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. (NAU)
► D. So we can give to the poor
Ephesians 4:28 He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need. (NAU)
Matthew 5:42 Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you. (NAU)
Luke 12:33 Sell your possessions and give to charity.... (NAU)
Matthew 25:35-40 35 For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.' 37 Then the righteous will answer Him, Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 38 And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 39 When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' 40 AThe King will answer and say to them, Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.' (NAU)
► E. So we can pay our taxes
Matthew 22:20-21 20 And He said to them, "Whose likeness and inscription is this?" 21 They said to Him, "Caesar's." Then He said to them, "Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and to God the things that are God's." (NAU)
Matthew 17:24--27 When they came to Capernaum, those who collected the two-drachma tax came to Peter and said, "Does your teacher not pay the two-drachma tax?" He said, "Yes." And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, "What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs or poll-tax, from their sons or from strangers?" When Peter said, "From strangers," Jesus said to him, "Then the sons are exempt. "However, so that we do not offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a shekel. Take that and give it to them for you and Me." (NAU)
► F. So we can invest wisely
Matthew 25:16 Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents. (NAU)
The woman in Proverbs 31 worked with her hands, invested in real estate, ran a small business and gave to the poor.
► V. Why is Gambling Wrong?
► A. Gambling denies God's sovereignty
There is no such thing as luck. Matthew 10:30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. (NAU)
God controls everything. Hebrews 1:3 And He ... upholds all things by the word of His power. . . . (NAU)
Colossians 1:16-17 16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authoritiesCall things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. (NAU)
"The Christian trusts in God, not in the vain hope of a winning lottery number or a favorable roll of the dice." R. Albert Mohler [7]
We should never let anything control our behavior except the Lord.
1 Corinthians 6:12 All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything. (NAU)
Ephesians 5:11 Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; (NAU)
► B. Gambling ignores God's promises
Since God has promised to provide our every need, when we gamble we are saying that luck and chance can or might provide our needs instead.
Philippians 4:19 And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. (NAU) God does not supply through chance.
Matthew 6:25,30,33 25 For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! 33 But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (NAU)
Coveting and greed are sins that are condemned over and over in the Scripture.
1 Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. (NAU)
When gambling does pay off God does NOT get the glory. 1 Corinthians 10:31-32 31 Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 32 Give no offense either to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God; (NAU)
► C. Gambling promotes selfishness
Philippians 2:3-4 3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; 4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. (NAU)
Colossians 3:5 Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. (NAU)
► D. Gambling demeans God's presence
Hebrews 13:5--6 Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, "I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU," so that we confidently say, "THE LORD IS MY HELPER, I WILL NOT BE AFRAID. WHAT WILL MAN DO TO ME?" (NAU)
When hard working Christians worry about money they are saying that God's presence is not enough for them.
Titus 2:11--14 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds. (NAU)
CONCLUSION: What are you worshiping? Worshiping "lady luck" cannot bring glory to a sovereign and loving God. Let's make sure we are only trusting the Lord to provide our needs and that we are willing to do the work that God provides for us to do. Let's determine that we will not let the lure of "something for nothing" draw us away from depending on our God.
►Proverbs 21:5 The plans of the diligent lead surely to advantage, but everyone who is hasty comes surely to poverty. (NAU)
[1]Focus on the Family newsletter. Jan. 1999. Page 1.
[2]World Magazine August 1, 1998 Pages 15-19
[3]Focus on the Family newsletter. Jan. 1999 Page 2.
[4]Focus on the Family newsletter. Jan. 1999, Page 1.
[5]World Magazine August 1, 1998, Page 15
[6]Youngblood, R. F., Bruce, F. F., Harrison, R. K., & Thomas Nelson Publishers. (1995). Nelson's new illustrated Bible dictionary. Rev. ed. of: Nelson's illustrated Bible dictionary.; Includes index. Nashville: T. Nelson.
[7]World Magazine August 1, 1998 Page 16.
