____________________________________________________ THE GOSPEL OBSERVER "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19,20). ____________________________________________________ June 23, 1991 ____________________________________________________ Is Gambling All Right? Don't Bet On It! by Tom Edwards Have you ever taken the time to consider whether various forms of gambling are right or wrong? (In this I do not use the word too broadly as in the often heard phrase, ``Life itself is a gamble.'' Obviously, there are many chances one takes in life, but this article will concern itself with putting up money at the risk of losing it in order to play games in the hopes of winning more money.) Today, gambling goes beyond the mere casinos. It is found also in various sugar-coated forms, such as in ``church'' bingo; games at the fair; school bazaars; buying ``chance tickets'' for cars, quilts, or other commodities. And, also, many states around the nation are now constantly luring people of various walks of life to participate in their lotteries. This is especially sad when it is those who are already living on such a meager income who become its merciless victims. Gambling is not a new problem. In 1983, the U.S. News and World Report showed that Americans wager a trillion dollars annually. This averaged to about $4,500 for every man, woman, and child in the nation. The Reader's Digest stated in November 1971 that ``In New York from April to August the Off Track Betting Corporation handled $600,000 daily in bets. This is equivalent to 190 million dollars annually.'' The Greeks during the time of Homer had their ``knucklebones from sheep and goats marked to serve as dice''; and a gambling board was discovered on the island of Crete that dates back to somewhere between 1800 and 1900 B.C. There is a danger to gambling. It was one time declared illegal in this country because of its corrupting influence. In Reno, Nevada, for example, the police department had estimated 75% of their embezzlement cases to be related to gambling. Needless to say, gambling has been a destroyer of homes by robbing innocent wives and helpless children of much needed food and clothing. Tacitus and Marcellinus, secular writers hundreds of years ago, observed that ''...by gambling, men are led to fraud, cheating, lying, perjury, theft, and other enormities.'' Some people can become easily addicted to gambling. One source has estimated that there are as many as 10 million people in the U.S. who are compulsive gamblers. This has become so much of a problem that there is a GA (Gamblers Anonymous) for those who are trying to break the habit. Rod Serling in 1960 once did a show entitled The Fever...that depicted a man by the name of Franklin Gibbs who reluctantly went to Las Vegas after a continual insisting on the part of his wife who had won a free trip there. This highly moral man who had more sense than to waste his money foolishly was soon engrossed with an obsession to do that which his conscience formerly would not allow: to try to beat a particular slot machine that had coldly taken some of his hard-earned money. It had begun with his wife's innocent prompting that merely ``watching'' the others would not be immoral on their part. While so doing, Mr. Gibbs was given a coin by an intoxicated stranger who moved Franklin's hand toward the money slot for the machine. Not being able to remove the coin, Franklin pulled the handle. To his surprise, the coin that went in as one had now come out as many more. Determined, however, to cease at that moment, Mr. Gibbs led his wife back up to their room to retire for the night; but while even on the way, he could hear his name being implored by the machine amidst the sound of clanging coins. And during the night, he continued to hear his name being beckoned. Finally, yielding to this entreaty and violating his better judgment, Mr. Gibbs was soon found standing before this one-armed bandit, inserting coin after coin -- feeding the machine, pulling the lever, feeding the machine and pulling the lever -- all through the night and into the early morning hours, untiringly. This poor man had become oblivious to all else except for this money-sapping machine and his insatiable desire to rise above the odds. For hours and hours, he faced his nemesis while being unfairly disadvantaged; but, nevertheless, determined to obtain revenge for his loss. Sadly, though, with each pull of the handle, his loss became increasingly greater. Finally, on his last coin (after the casino would take no more of his checks), Mr. Gibbs pulled the handle -- and it jammed half-way! Knowing for certain that this was the coin that would have led to the big payoff, this man, who had now lost so much, finally went berserk--striking the machine and toppling it over. It was a pathetic sight of anger gone amuck. But this is just the Twilight Zone someone might say -- a mere fictitious tale, created within the recesses of Serling's prolific and unusual imagination. But let us look again into the world of reality. Often what is fiction is not far from what can and has been actualities. Unquestionably, the foregone story of Mr. Gibbs is highly exaggerated when compared to many real life situations, but sometimes hyperboles are used to express the intense feelings that are invisible to the external world, but very much felt within. Ask a compulsive gambler how he or she feels about wins and losses, or ask one who is not described as being a ``compulsive gambler'' as to how he or she would react towards losing a few to several hundred dollars. Unless this person is extremely wealthy (and maybe this is also irrelevant at times), it would be hard to imagine anyone finding enjoyment in losing anything. Whether one is gambling high stakes or a mere nickel, the principle remains the same: one is gambling. At GA, members are urged to not even bet over who will buy the coffee; they realize the possible danger in this. Comparatively, we can view this along with the ex-alcoholic and the taking of that one drink that might begin those ruinous cycles all over again. The FBI has listed gambling as being one of the six selected dangers hurtful to young people. Fortunately, I never engaged much in this as a non-Christian youth. The thought of losing something so easily never appealed to me, but I still can remember of some who were frequently given to ``flipping for coins'' and ``pitching coins'' during my Junior High days. Perhaps, by losing my lunch money a few times, it served to make an indelible impression that helped to easily dissuade me from this precarious means of financial gain -- which generally resulted into a sad, financial loss. Obviously, these milder forms of betting can sometimes evolve into much bigger stakes that also have even more of a tendency to cause the participant to decline further into corruption in order to maintain the gambling habit; it is most likely in view of this that the FBI made the statement which it did concerning gambling and youth. What Principles From the Bible Does Gambling Violate? First of all, gambling is in conflict with what the Bible teaches about ``love'' and the ``golden rule'' (Matt. 22:39); here the Lord states: ``You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'' And in Matthew 7:12, Jesus teaches, ``Therefore, however you want people to treat you, so treat them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.'' Do you desire for others to win from you your hard-earned money and leave you flat broke, or would you want to lose even part of it? Would you enjoy someone winning from you your TV? your stereo? your car? part of your furniture? or some of your money? It would seem unlikely that you would. Is the winner showing much love to the loser who has now become too short-changed to provide for his family for that week? Let us consider Paul's exhortation in Romans 13:8-10: ``Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. For this, `You shall not commit murder, you shall not steal, you shall not covet,' and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, `You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' Love does no wrong to a neighbor; love therefore is the fulfillment of the law.'' Is not the winner taking a cruel advantage of his neighbor, especially if he is better skilled in the game? ``Let no one seek his own good, but that of his neighbor'' (1 Cor. 10:4). We can truly see this exemplified in the life of the good Samaritan (Luke 10), but let us ask ourselves the question, ``Is it seeking another's good to encourage one to gamble or to cause that one to become involved with gambling?'' Would you really want to be responsible for leading another into doing such? Isn't the gambler also guilty of coveting after that which is not rightfully his? Think about it. Are there many gamblers who gamble for the mere ``fun'' of it and do not really care whether they win or lose because they're just having so much of a ``good time''? I can hear it now: ``Well, honey, I sure had an enjoyable evening, but we'll have to forget about that new car and trip to the Bahamas for a while. Sorry, about that; but I sure had an exciting time. I think I'll join the fellows for another card game real soon. Oh, by the way, Sonny, could you loan me a few dollars till pay day?'' Greed has a way of sometimes making us blind to the facts. A poor peddler used to sell shoe laces in front of an office building. Every day one of the executives who had worked inside would kindly give the peddler 10 cents for a pair of them, but would never take even one of the laces. The day eventually came, however, when the peddler said to the executive, ``I don't mean to complain, sir, but the laces are now 15 cents.'' Had greed blinded this peddler to the executive's graciousness? In Colossians 3:5,6, Greed is shown to be the equivalent of idolatry, and one of the specified sins for which God's wrath will come. Though money is not the root of all evil, as some would say, the ``love of money'' most definitely is (1 Tim. 6:10); and by so loving it, it becomes an object of greed or a form of idolatry. Gambling violates the proper principle of stewardship. According to Luke 12:42, a steward is to be faithful and sensible. In Luke 15:13, the prodigal son had wasted his wealth in riotous living. Even though it was his own, he still handled it wrongly. Could you imagine an individual telling the Lord, ``Sorry, Lord; I wanted to be able to help my family, give to the church, and aid others in need -- and I would have been able -- but I lost the money last night in a poker game that I was going to use.'' Gambling destroys respect for God's plan to earn an income by honest work. Note Paul's admonition to the Ephesians, ``Let him who steals steal no longer; but rather let him labor, performing with his own hands what is good, in order that he may have something to share with him who has need'' (Eph. 4:28). Good work has a wholesome effect upon man and the community. Proverbs and Ecclesiastes extol the virtue of work -- gambling, however, is not consistent with this; some have even referred to it as ``stealing by consent.'' Gambling has an appearance of evil and can hurt one's influence. I can still remember how unusual it seemed to me when I learned of one of my old friends, who considers himself a Christian, to be betting on the races from time to time. I think he had even deceived himself into believing that not only was this an all right activity, but also one in which he could pray for God's guidance in selecting the winner. Tertullian, who lived about A.D. 160 to 220, wrote: ``If you say you are a Christian when you are a dice player you say what you are not, because you are a partner with the world.'' I once read that ``A western sheriff confiscated a group of slot machines on the basis of a law banning the use of steel traps for catching dumb animals.'' This officer had made his own application to this particular law in order to accomplish his mission. Yes, he had to stretch the truth a little, but I wonder how much. Why would one gamble? for fun? for greed? God knows why one would. Is it fun to know that even if you win, your gain is at the cost of someone else's loss? Do you think the loser is just as happy with the outcome as the winner? If you are desirous toward winning big, with no odds against you, consider Jesus and His sure plan of salvation. It is not a gamble in living for the Lord; for by your faith and obedience, God can give you an unbeatable hand that can defeat anything the Devil might lay before you. Now, how's that for a deal? With Jesus and the way to eternal life, you need never take a gamble. ________________________________________ Tri-State CHURCH OF CHRIST 713 13th Street, Ashland, Kentucky 41101 Sunday: 10:00 A.M. Bible class 10:50 A.M. Worship 6:30 P.M. Worship Wednesday: 7:30 P.M. Bible study evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (606) 325-9742 e-mail: tedwards@zoomnet.net Gospel Observer web site: http://www.zoomnet.net/~tedwards/go ________________________________________