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          Gamblers are never content with what they have, but continually strive for more by taking another chance and making another wager—only to suffer another and another loss.  Those supporting this lucrative business renamed it gaming to have participants think they are playing an innocent game instead of being deceived by a wicked devil.  Proverbs 27:20 ”Hell and Destruction are never full; So the eyes of man are never satisfied.”

An article stated that Americans gamble more money each year, than they spend on food.  Gambling is seen by many as a ticket from poverty, but the Word asks James 2:5 “Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?”  We either love God or we love money.  Jesus said Matthew 6:24 “You cannot be the bondservants both of God and of gold”—it is one or the other.

All but three states have some form of legalized gambling.  It is a 41 billion dollar industry that expands every year, and ensnares more people every day.  It is an industry that takes the gambler’s money, but provides no product or service in return.  The lure of winning large sums of money has always been addictive, and the results are, all too often—broken homes, failed marriages; alcohol abuse, neglected children, lost time, and destroyed families.

Not too long ago most people considered gambling to be addictive, progressive, and dangerous, and many homes would not allow standard playing cards in the house—they were so intrinsically linked to gambling.  Changing the name to gaming continues the deceit that gambling is just harmless entertainment; rather than a dangerous and addictive habit.

When state lotteries are proposed, the public is told that enormous funds will be generated for education, despite studies showing that after states legalize lotteries, they actually reduce spending for education. The promised money for schools has been a scam—like so many other aspects of the gambling industry.

Gambling is morally wrong and against Bible teaching because it is motivated by greed and covetousness—two serious sins.  Colossians 3:5-7 ”Therefore put to death your earthward inclinations—fornication, impurity, sensual passion, unholy desire, and all greed, for that is a form of idolatry.  It is on account of these very sins that God’s anger is coming, and you also were once addicted to them, while you were living under their power.”  Idolaters Revelation 21:8 will have their place “in the fiery lake of burning sulfur.”

          The addictive nature of gambling explains how it leads to more serious sins.  Winning any large amount of money would instantly become a treasure on earth, on which we would place our trust.  It would have to be given up anyway, because Jesus said Mark 10:24 “Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!”  If the money was retained our trust on God would be eliminated, and the incentive to work at honest employment gone.

Greed is a consistent desire to have more and more without regard to need.  Greed is a sin because it is opposite to contentment.  The apostle wrote that 1 Timothy 6:8-9 “having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.  But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition.”

The horror stories associated with compulsive gambling and the playing of lotteries, are endless.  As gamblers get deeper and deeper into debt, they become desperate to win it back; which almost never happens—and even if they win, they quickly lose it all again.  Gambling is a serious temptation and a deadly snare that will 1 Timothy 6:9 “drown men in destruction and perdition.”  It is misplaced-love for God; because 1 Timothy 6:10 “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”

          Even though the world runs toward the casinos and gaming tables, the Word says to 1 Timothy 6:11-12 “flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.  Fight the good fight of the faith.  Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”

If we are trusting God to supply our needs each day, and if we are looking to Him for the strength and ability to do our work well for our employer, there would be no reason to gamble; neither greed nor coveting are connected to needs, but only to selfish wants and unholy desires to get rich.  Mark 4:19 ”The deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.”

Gambling, and all things connected with it, is against God’s will, so the believer would not want to be part of any such activities.  A greedy person is constantly looking for get-rich-quick schemes, but the Bible condemns such greed.  Proverbs 28:20 ”A faithful man will abound with blessings, But he who hastens to be rich will not go unpunished.”  Gambling is forever linked to the desire to be rich; it is a thirst for wealth, and not part of God’s plan of trust, honest work, and contentment.

Satan tries to have people consider gambling as harmless fun, rather than what it truly is—a deadly and dangerous addiction.  We are to be rich in faith; not eager for monetary gain.  Spiritual wealth adds no sorrow to it. The issue is not how much we have, but how much God has given.

If our confidence in God’s faithfulness, has been replaced with a lucky spin at gambling, we have 1 Timothy 6:10 “so hankered after money as to be led astray from the faith and [will] be pierced through with countless sorrows.”

Gambling starts in small ways, and is offered as a harmless form of entertainment, but it quickly becomes a big risk, with enormous amounts at stake.  Gambling is a very destructive addiction.  Casino workers are trained to maintain and enhance a party atmosphere, while gamblers make bigger wagers, and the stakes get ever higher.  Millions have lost fortunes hoping to hit it big.

Gambling becomes a pattern of behavior that leads to a downward spiral.  Borrowing money to cover losses seems like the only solution, but the debt gets deeper, and the temptations more serious, which often leads to theft, lying, and other sins to support an addictive habit.  Gambling leads down the road of unpaid bills; hungry families; and betrayed friendships—the price to pay is way too high.

Jesus warned Luke 12:15, "Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses."  He teaches us to share what we have with others, and never intended for us to gain from someone else’s loss.  Luke 6:31 "And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.”  It is selfish to overlook the pain and loss of others, as we seek our own pleasure and gain.

Belief in luck is totally against belief in an All-powerful God, because if God exists, then luck makes no sense.  Things do not just happen, but there is a spiritual cause for everything.  Belief in God dispels any idea of luck or chance as a determining factor with things that happen.  The casting of lots in the Bible was not gambling because no money or other value was placed at risk in hopes of gain, but individuals trusted a sovereign God to direct the outcome.

Gambling is not showing good stewardship and not using good judgment.  Proverbs 12:11 ”He who works his land will have abundant food, but he who chases fantasies lacks judgment.”  Those who yield to the lure of quick riches are chasing a something-for-nothing fantasy.  Gambling feeds covetousness, which is in opposition to God’s call for contentment.  Phil. 4:11 “I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content.”

Gambling creates a condition in which one person’s gain, is from many other persons’ loss.  As such, gambling is opposed to brotherly love and concern.  Matthew 22:37-39 Jesus said, "‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”

          Gambling substitutes love of neighbor, for love of self.  The apostle told us that we should not do anything Romans 14:21 “by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak.”  And Romans 15:1 ”As for us who are strong, our duty is to bear with the weaknesses of those who are not strong, and not seek our own pleasure.”

Time is a gift from God, and it must not be wasted.  We are told not to live as fools, but to make wise choices Ephesians 5:15-16 ”Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”  God created time for our sake, so we must not waste it on unprofitable things, but to use it for the glory of, and in the service of, God.  Gamblers waste this gift of time that God has given—using it for their own selfish interests.

God commands us to work at honest labor, and in a way that supplies our needs, when we are able to work.  Proverbs 28:19 ”He who works his land will have abundant food, but the one who chases fantasies will have his fill of poverty.”  The apostle said 2 Thessalonians 3:10 “when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.”  The gambler hopes to get money without working.

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