I recently received a booklet on Gambling by Tony Evans. I’m in the process of reading it now. Along with the booklet came a question: “Are you planning on preaching on gambling any time soon?” The answer is, no – I don’t have that on my sermon radar right now. However, the topic is hot because gambling has become common place in America, so I decided to write on it in the interim.
It used to be that men bet on horses, on the outcome of football games, went to Las Vegas to “blow off some steam” and a few other things. But since the introduction of the Lottery and the expansion of Vegas-style casinos across the country, gambling has mainstreamed. It is a $300 billion industry involving at least a third of Americans at some level. Gambling is a problem that impacts men and women across the social spectrum, bankrupts families, destroys marriages and wrecks lives. It caters to the sins of avarice and greed. It leads people to the sins of theft and deception in order to get the money to gamble. And now that the government is involved (the Lottery is government-sanctioned gambling), it is a state-sponsored tax on the poor, who are far and away the largest group involved in gambling. Should you gamble? Well…Is it wise to gamble with the money God has placed in your hands? Is it motivated by greed? Does it take the place of trusting God to meet your needs? Is it hurting or helping others? Is it hurting or helping your walk with God? The answers to those questions will go a long way to determining whether you or any believer should gamble.