Moral Issues Confronting Christians

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                 "MORAL ISSUES CONFRONTING CHRISTIANS"

                                Gambling

INTRODUCTION

1. We turn now to gambling, a moral issue confronting Christians due
   to...
   a. The proliferation of government sanctioned gambling (e.g., state
      lotteries)
   b. The easy access to gambling (e.g., lottery tickets in convenience
      stores)

2. What is gambling (or gaming)...?
   a. The wagering of money or something of material value on an event
      with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning
      additional money and/or material goods - Wikipedia
   b. Typically, the outcome of the wager is evident within a short
      period - ibid.
   c. The term gaming in this context typically refers to instances in
      which the activity has been specifically permitted by law - ibid.

3. Sadly, some religions encourage gambling...
   a. "Both the Catholic and Jewish traditions traditionally set aside
      days for gambling" - Dwayne Carpenter, quoted in "Gambling Had
      Role In Religious History"
   b. The above article mentions Christmas and Hanukkah as holidays in
      which gambling was permitted, if not encouraged

[If both states and some religions approve of gambling, what could be
wrong with it?  Before supplying some answers, let's first address...]

I. ARGUMENTS USED TO JUSTIFY GAMBLING

   A. "LIFE IS A GAMBLE..."
      1. Does not Solomon say "time and chance happen to them all"?
         - Ecc 9:11
      2. So it may appear when life is viewed "under the sun" (a purely
         worldly perspective)
      3. But God's will in our lives precludes a life of pure chance
         - 1Co 4:19; Jm 4:15
      -- Life is not gambling, it involves the will of God!

   B. "FARMING IS A GAMBLE..."
      1. Does not the farmer take a risk in sowing when he may not reap?
      2. But God has promised "seedtime and harvest would not cease"
         - Gen 8:22
      3. Farming is an honorable way of receiving God's blessings - Psa
         104:14
      -- Farming is not gambling, it involves the activity of God!

   C. "BUYING INSURANCE IS A GAMBLE..."
      1. Is not buying insurance a gamble?
      2. Insurance is simply a method of shifting risk (accidents,
         illness) from one party to another
      3. It is also a way of providing for one's family, an important
         duty - 1Ti 5:8
      -- Insurance is not gambling, when used to shift risk and provide
         for others

   D. "INVESTING IS A GAMBLE..."
      1. Is not investing in business or the stock market a gamble?
      2. It can be, when involving speculative or significant risks
      3. But good and safe investments are not evil within themselves
         - cf. Mt 25:14-30
      -- Investing is not gambling, when done prudently

[Arguments in favor of gambling are weak attempts to defend the
indefensible.  Compare them with...]

II. ARGUMENTS AGAINST GAMBLING

   A. THE PRINCIPLE IS SINFUL...
      1. Gambling violates the work ethic - Ep 4:28; 1Th 4:11-12
         a. To gain from honorable labor
         b. Not get rich quick schemes
      2. Gambling violates the stewardship ethic - 1Chr 29:13-14; 1Pe
         4:10
         a. All things come from God
         b. We will have to give an account for our stewardship
      -- People gamble for a quick buck, willing to risk what is not
         theirs

   B. THE MOTIVATION IS SINFUL...
      1. People gamble because of greed - 1Ti 6:9-10
         a. Their desire to be rich, which leads to foolish and harmful
            lusts, destruction and perdition
         b. Their love of money, which leads to loss of faith and many
            sorrows
      2. People gamble because of covetousness - Ep 5:3-7; Col 3:5-6
         a. They want something more than God, making it idolatry
         b. They will bring the wrath of God upon themselves
      -- People gamble because they want to be rich, a desire we should
         flee (1Ti 6:11)

   C. THE FRUIT IS SINFUL...
      1. It takes advantage of others' weaknesses - cf. Ro 15:1-2
         a. Exploiting others or extorting money for one's own advantage
         b. Do gamblers care what happens to those who lose?
      2. It leads to unsavory companions - cf. 1Co 15:33; Ep 5:11
         a. Others who are motivated by greed and covetousness
         b. Those quick to take advantage:  bookies, loan sharks, etc.
      3. It leads to addiction - cf. 2Pe 2:19
         a. Gambling can become psychologically and physically addictive
         b. "Monetary reward in a gambling-like experiment produces
            brain activation very similar to that observed in a cocaine
            addict receiving an infusion of cocaine." - Hans Breiter,
            MD, co-director of the Motivation and Emotion Neuroscience
            Centre at Massachusetts General Hospital
      4. It leads to other sins - cf. Mk 7:21-23
         a. As debts build up, people turn to other quick sources of
            money (theft, drugs)
         b. Suicide is common, along with abuse, divorce, other mental
            disorders
      -- People who gamble do not consider how they hurt themselves and
         others

CONCLUSION

1. Which is gambling more like...?
   a. The works of the flesh, or the fruit of the Spirit? - Ga 5:19-23
   b. The deeds of the old man, or the apparel of the new man? - Col
      3:5-14

2. One does need to look long to see that gambling is sinful...
   a. The motive is greed
   b. The desire is to get rich quick (covetousness)
   c. The harm to self and others is extensive

3. Consider these tidbits of wisdom....
   a. Gambling: The sure way of getting nothing from something - Wilson
      Mizner
   b. The safest way to double your money is to fold it over once and
      put it in your pocket - Kin Hubbard
   c. By gaming we lose both our time and treasure - two things most
      precious to the life of man - Owen Felltham
   d. Lottery:  A tax on people who are bad at math - Author Unknown

Only those blinded by the deceitfulness of sin have problems seeing the
problems with gambling...

   "This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should
   no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility
   of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated
   from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them,
   because of the blindness of their heart; who, being past feeling,
   have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with
   greediness. But you have not so learned Christ..."
                                                          - Ep 4:17-20
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