Introduction
This lesson is a continuation of our series on moral issues facing the church. Tonight we’ll be talking about gambling.
Part of the reason I selected this topic to teach on is that I felt like I did not have a good grasp on the issue myself. If someone asked me if I thought gambling was wrong and why, what would I tell them?
Maybe you are in the same position yourself. Hopefully our discussion tonight will result in some concrete Biblical principles we can all apply both to gambling and related issues.
Gambling is somewhat of a difficult topic to address because the Bible does not mention it specifically. We do have quite a number of principles laid out in the Bible that address various aspects of gambling.
I encourage your participation in the class tonight. I’m sure I cannot answer all the questions you may have, but we have many excellent Bible students here tonight that may be able to help.
What is gambling?
This is an important question because people often like to confuse the issue of gambling by conflating it with other risky behavior and trying to draw parallels that aren’t really there.
To play a game of chance for money or other potential gain.
That in itself is pretty straightforward. Closely related to gambling is another idea we need to get clear on – betting.
Betting
Winners are created at the expense of losers through the wagering of money or valuables.
Betting – the staking of money on an outcome that is in doubt is the heart of gambling.
Playing a game of chance for pure amusement is not necessarily considered gambling. Rather, it is the betting—the staking of money on an outcome that is in doubt—that is at the heart of gambling.
Pocket Dictionary of Ethics
So, what constitutes gambling?
Which of these things really constitutes gambling or betting as we’ve defined them?
- Living life
- Farming
- Moving your family to a new town and starting a new job
- Investing in the stock market
- Buying health insurance
- The claw game at the arcade
- Slot machines
- Betting on sports
- Playing poker for money
Maybe you have some immediate ideas on which of these is gambling Put these in the back of your mind for a minute and let’s look at the Bible to see what principles we can find that might apply.
Bible principles
The two greatest commands
Love God with all your heart, soul, and mind.
- Matthew 22:37–38
Love your neighbor as yourself.
- Matthew 22:39–40
- Romans 13:8–10
Be a good steward of your blessings
- Parable of the talents – Matthew 25:14-30
- Proverbs 10:2–5
- 1 Timothy 6:17–21
Flee covetousness
- Luke 12:15–21
- The problem with greed is that it takes our mind off God!
- Ephesians 5:3–7
- Colossians 3:5–7
- 1 Corinthians 6:9–11
Work to provide for your own
- Acts 20:33–35
- Paul used himself as an example of how they should work.
- 2 Thessalonians 3:7–12
- 1 Timothy 5:8
Resist the love of money
- 1 Timothy 6:6–11
- Hebrews 13:5
- Mark 4:18–19
- Luke 16:13–15
- Ephesians 4:28
Be a light to the world
- Matthew 5:13–16
Applications
Now that we have established some related Biblical principles, we can begin to look at these different scenarios and see which of them violate any of these principles.
I should note here that each of these are presented as a hypothetical, limited situation. In real life, there might be a lot more going on in a given situation that you need to consider than just what we are looking at here.
Living life
- With the principles we’ve laid out, clearly just living the life God has given us cannot be considered a gamble in the strict sense we are talking about here.
- Certainly, we must evaluate and take risks as we live, but this is not the same as gambling.
- This is a case where people often use this scenario as an example to make gambling seem more acceptable, but this is simply a diversion tactic.
- Living life in the way God prescribes should follow all of the principles we’ve laid out so far.
Farming
- Farming is working and providing for your own and for others, showing love for your neighbor.
- It can indeed be very risky, but that in itself does not mean it is gambling.
- A good farmer is a good steward of what God has given him.
- Many jobs carry their own risks (starting any business, for example, can be quite a big risk, especially if the business must support a family).
Moving your family to a new town and starting a new job
- This can certainly be a risky endeavor, but it is not gambling in the strict sense.
- If you are simply changing jobs to chase a bigger paycheck without proper concern for yourself and your family, then that is a separate issue.
- Once again, risk does not necessarily equal gambling.
Investing in the stock market
There are possibly multiple sides to this, depending on how you are investing in the stock market.
Gradual investment for long-term returns (like a 401(k), for example):
- This sounds very much like the example of the ten talent and five talent men in the Parable of the Talents.
- This is simply being a good steward of your money and providing for your family’s future.
- There is some risk involved, but it is not the same as gambling.
Day trading (short-term investments that try to time dips and spikes in the market):
- In some forms, this could be considered gambling because you are not really using the stock market as a way to invest in companies you believe in.
- Instead, you are putting down money (betting) to wager that the stock price goes the way you hope.
- In the very short term, the price fluctuations are essentially random, so you are reduced to wagering on random events.
Buying health insurance
- Buying insurance is a way of managing risk.
- Some things in life have the potential to be financially disastrous, even though they are unlikely.
- If your family depends on your job to provide for them, it is probably wise to have health insurance (and maybe several other kids of insurance, too!) to cover unexpected expenses.
- This is an example of being a good steward and providing for your own.
The claw game at the arcade
- This might seem like a strange application to add, but the reason it is here is because of the way the claw game works.
- It presents itself as a game of skill where you try to aim for the prize you want to win.
- The deception is that the claw only closes with full force at random intervals set by the owner of the machine, which turns this into essentially a slot machine with a small element of skill added at the beginning.
- Many carnival games are actually designed like this. Beware!
- I’m not arguing that playing carnival games is gambling, but you should be aware of what you are getting into when you play the game.
Slot machines
- Slot machines are essentially the definition of gambling.
- You are betting on the outcome of a random event.
- This violates the principles of resisting covetousness, working for your living, being a good steward, resisting the love of money, and also being a light to the world.
- Playing slot machines is not the best way to bring people to Christ.
Betting on sports
- Is it showing love for your neighbor to make an agreement to take their money if a team they support loses?
- It is certainly not an example of good stewardship to wager money on an event you do not control.
- Betting may also be a sign of covetousness, greed, and love of money.
- We have not really mentioned addiction in this lesson, but gambling does have addictive qualities that are dangerous.
- Betting is certainly not the best way for a Christian to be a light to the world.
Playing poker for money
- Playing poker is a little different in that there is actually skill involved in playing the game, although there is still quite a bit of randomness in how things turn out.
- Like betting on sports, though, it can still be a sign of covetousness, greed, and love of money.
- Taking money from another in a game is also not the best way to show love for a neighbor or to be a light to the world.
