“Aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.”
1 Thessalonians 4:11-12
With the Super Bowl approaching this weekend I wanted to write to you about a long-standing, but now particularly relevant, moral problem – gambling. Gambling is not specifically related to any particular game but revolves around wagering money on games or events of chance. The entire concept relates to making money (hopefully lots of it!) without working or investing. Gambling is the most ancient form of a ‘get rich quick’ scheme. It’s founded in greed and impatience. It’s rooted in the heart of a reckless person that is willing to take foolish risks that could wreck one’s life, for the narrow possibility of a huge payout.
The Bible is very clear from Genesis to Revelation that people should provide for their physical needs primarily through work. We should earn our living through providing an honorable good or service to the community around us, which provides us a return on our labor that meets our needs. We are clearly commanded against stealing, lying, or violence to get what we need. Gambling gets a little grey because it doesn’t fall directly in any of these categories, but I would argue it does fall under the prohibition of covetousness. Those that gamble want things or a lifestyle that they cannot have through work, and they hope to gain it through risk and chance.
I am writing to warn you about the moral pitfalls of gambling because it is significantly on the rise in the US, particularly among young men. Only a few years ago gambling was largely illegal and confined to Nevada and Native American reservations. It was widely understood that vices of alcoholism, illegal drugs, and prostitution were closely tied to communities that supported gambling. However, in the past two decades many states began to legalize lotteries in the name of raising money for schools and ‘the children.’ Lotteries are an entry level form of gambling and lead millions of people, that do not have money to throw away, to waste their resources on impossible odds. However, states found that the hope of getting rich quickly filled their revenue coffers with huge amounts of income. This paved the way for the current situation.
As it stands today, at least half the states in the union have openly legalized in-person gambling, and sports gambling is available online nationwide. Each one of these establishments or online apps are big money-makers for their ownership and for the states where they exist. Lavish buildings can be built because the ‘house always wins.’ The algorithms of online gambling are fine tuned to push out just enough winnings to keep people coming back but make enormous revenue for the site owner. States continue to lower barriers to gambling because the earnings are taxed and pump-up state revenues. Nearly all of the money exchanged is now digital making the entire enterprise seem more like a game, and less like blowing away real cash.
It is well documented that once people create online sports betting accounts, the gambling companies will seed the first round of bets by adding ‘free’ money to the account then tilt the outcomes toward winning. The marketers know that if they can give people a few wins, it will stoke their greed and false hope of continued future winnings. Accounts abound of gamblers deep in debt that finally decide to quit, only to be directly contacted by a gambling site account representative to credit their account with a few more dollars to keep them going.
The entire situation is a calculated multi-billion dollar business wasting enormous amounts of money and stirring up the covetousness and greed of a younger generation. So many become addicted to the thrill of possible wealth that most states, after taking in millions in tax revenue from ruining the lives of its citizens, require the collective gambling institutions to fund gambling addiction counseling. The entire structure is ludicrous. It’s no different than having alcohol manufactures funding alcohol rehab centers.
To go full circle with this discussion, let’s understand clearly as Christians, that God has designed our needs to be met by honorable work and legitimate investment. Covetousness and greed are sins that will destroy. Remember the words of Paul, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs” (1 Timothy 6:10). Stay away from the source of many of these temptations. Stay away from casinos. Keep gambling apps off your digital devices. Do not give Satan our adversary a foothold in your life. Parents, have intentional conversations with your teens and college students. Make sure they are not dabbling in these dark waters.
Let us instead be known as a steady, hardworking, and content people. Let us plan well for the future, hope in the Lord, and be patient with what we have. Enjoy watching the game without feeling the need to bet on it!
May we be a steady and faithful people,
Pastor Vic