This Week in Gambling – I have written in the past about my personal life in this industry, especially when it came to some perceived conflict between my religious faith and what I do for a living. I have never been ashamed to profess my Christian beliefs, but I have also never felt convicted for working in the gambling industry… unless those convictions were thrown at me from other Christians.
I have said many times that the Christian Bible makes no claim that gambling is a sin. Many of my spiritual brothers and sisters have taken issue with that in the past, with some even twisting scriptures to fit their personal convictions. Some said playing games of chance was not being a good stewards of God’s money., to which I usually replied that they could be driving an ’85 Chevy Nova instead of their new Mercedes, then giving away the cash they save to the poor. None ever took that advice… although church raffles and bingo continue.
Still, some other Christians were quick to point out that sitting at a poker table in a casino was “wrong” because I could have been spending time with my family or doing Gods work… to which I usually replied that spending $35 on a Friday night poker game was surely better that spending the same $35 on a Sunday morning golf game while missing church services. None ever invited me to hit some balls on the Lords day… although I really don’t believe golf to be sinful.
Recently, I read yet another argument against gambling on The Christian Post from the Reverand Mark H. Creech. I am sure he is a good and decent man with all the best intentions, and perhaps he really feels convicted to put forth the argument he uses to label this activity “wrong”. He knows that some, like myself, believe gambling is harmless entertainment when done responsibly in moderation. And he admits that there is no scripture in the Bible which calls gambling a sin. However, he continues, there is no scripture which says pornography is a sin either, but any Christian would have to admit that “lust” certainly is.
Contrary to what the Reverend claims, the Bible actually does spend quite a bit of time covering sins of the flesh, lust and looking at woman inappropriately. Jesus himself spoke about what your eyes look at causing you to sin. So I don’t fully respect the argument that scripture doesn’t deal with pornography. However, Reverend Creech proceeds to use the same broad strokes in an attempt to connect gambling and the scripture on coveting. If you’ve never heard of this, ‘coveting’ is covered in the Ten Commandments, and – as the Reverend explains it – is “…an inordinate desire for money, property, or something that belongs to someone else.”
In order to make his comparison, Reverend Creech must assume that everyone who gambles expects to win and has a lust for money. They cannot simply enjoy the game or the social interaction. This is, of course, complete nonsense and contradictory of the vast majority of people who gamble. They take a few hundred dollars to the casino to enjoy the experience, knowing the odds are against them, fully expecting to walk away empty handed (unlike all those poor “sinners” who play the lottery every week).
I do understand and appreciate the moral objections to gambling from certain groups of people. After all, gambling can ruin peoples lives when done irresponsibly… very similar to the use of alcohol. Drinking can also destroy lives when abused, so naturally some Christians also deem alcohol to be “sinful”. Those people apparently haven’t read the second chapter of John where the very first miracle of Jesus was turning water in to wine. Or maybe they have read the passage, but are simply so ignorant (or in denial) that they actually believe it was grape juice. I dunno.
The bottom line is that gambling is not mentioned as a sin in the Bible… anywhere. If a person can play a game of craps responsibly then that’s their personal decision. If another person feels convicted about doing so, then perhaps it’s wrong for them. Either way, it’s a personal matter between them and God… no one else. If Reverend Creech reads the Bible and feels gambling is wrong, no one should berate his beliefs because his interpretation and personal walk is different from theirs. Nor should he force his personal beliefs on others. People who twist scripture to fit their personal morality – then use that morality as the absolute measure of sin instead of the word of God – are being judgmental. And the Bible does have a lot of actual verses dealing with that.
