September 1, 2000

• Jmac on Gambling - condensed

  Gambling is not simply risk.  The word "gamble, gambling, gambler" are related to the word "game."  They come from an old English word gammon, it's the idea of a game.  Gambling is a game.  It is not a game based on skill.  It is not a game based on reason.  And it is not a game based on anything controllable. It is a game based on sheer chance.  Gambling is an appeal to sheer chance, random luck without skill or one's personal involvement.  That's gambling.  It's not like competing for a prize where you have to produce something or run faster than somebody else or do something better than someone else does because you have control over that.  That's a rational, manageable, controllable activity.  Gambling is not like that.  It's not like risking in business for a return.  It is an appeal to sheer chance without any control, purely random. 

  Let me give you a definition, a formal definition sort of summing up what I've been saying.  Gambling is an activity in which a person risks something of value, usually money.  It's an activity in which a person risks something of value to forces of chance completely beyond his control or any rational expectation.  That's it.  It is an activity in which a person risks something of value to forces of chance completely beyond his control or any rational expectation in hope of winning something of greater value, usually more money.  But it's an appeal to sheer chance. 

  And it's the foolish thing about chance is the idea that if you do it longer, your odds get better.  That's not true because there are no controllable elements so the odds cannot be reduced.  Pure chance, sheer random luck never changes its odds.  In fact, I read somewhere this week where you have about as much chance of winning the lottery as being eaten by a shark on dry land.
   
       Now gambling, this appeal to sheer chance, has devastating effects.  And I want to talk about those effects for a few minutes.  It provides wealth for a handful of people at the expense of the masses, mostly the poor.  People in the lowest income bracket spend four times as much of their income on gambling as others.  Gambling is the exploitation of the poor.  It is the exploitation of the uneducated.  It is the exploitation of the undisciplined, the people who lack self-control.  It is the exploitation of the lazy people. 

  Number one I want to share with you is the moral issues in gambling.  And we're looking now just at a broad moral sweep, obviously supported by the general teaching of Scripture.  Gambling is immoral for the following reasons: 

  One, it drains the economic provision that God makes for people.  Gambling is immoral because it is God who gives you the power to get wealth and everything we have comes from God, and gambling drains that. 

  Two, gambling is immoral because it undermines philanthropy.  In fact, it reverses philanthropy.  It is a light for dark and black for white and bitter for sweet reversal, if we use the words of Isaiah 5.  Instead of giving to the poor and helping the poor, it exploits the poor.  It is the destruction of philanthropy.  Instead of taking any discretionary money that you might have and giving it to someone with need, you take your discretionary money and gamble it so that you can take the biggest amount from those who have the least and who made the foolish investment in the first place.  

  It's immoral because it erodes the biblical work ethic.  God has honored and exalted work.  Man is to earn his bread by the sweat of his brow.  Six days shall you work, Exodus 20.  The whole of the work ethic is demeaned by this.  And the American work ethic is getting worse and worse as we speak.  It's sinking deeper and deeper.  And as it goes people demand more, they demand the government give them more though they work less and the fantasy becomes become more seducing all the time.  And so the work ethic is further eroded.  The American dream used to be that if you work hard enough you can make a good comfortable life in this great nation.  The American dream now is win the Lottery.  And that is a seductive fantasy that doesn't come true.  And even if you win it, by the way, you get $50,000 a year and that's after the government taxes it and it's spread out over who knows how many years.  It isn't what it appears on the surface. 

  Sociologist Mark Abramson(?) explains and I quote him, "The same state that urged people to stay in school, seek job training and persevere through hard work and sacrifice, also encourages the fatalistic belief that people's lives can change dramatically if their numbers come up in the Lottery.  The state is selling one message with its right hand and another with its left," end quote. 

  It is immoral also because it promotes irrationality...it promotes irrationality.  One of the things that we've always tried to promote in America is the use of the mind.  I can remember seeing advertising on television, "A mind is a terrible thing to waste."  Rationality, the God-given distinction that makes us human rather than animal, the ability to think and to reason and to sort out to plan is a part of our God-given image.  And that kind of rationality is important to being what men and women should be.  Gambling promotes irrationality.  It promotes fantasy and thus it promotes despair because there's no guaranteed goal, there's guaranteed achievement at the end of the thing.  If you work hard and you apply yourself and you exercise your work ethic, there's a guaranteed benefit to that, you will produce.  But the irrational fantasy of gambling leads only to nothingness and then despair. 
    
  It is immoral because it preys on the weak and the vulnerable, mostly elderly.  Many, many elderly, particularly older women, who gamble, it preys on the weak, teen agers now we know, and even children.  It preys on those who are not rational, who aren't the smartest and the brightest, who have the least.  
    
  It is immoral because it attracts the undisciplined and pushes them deeper and deeper into difficulty. 
    
  Now that's a general look at its immorality.  Let me give you some specific sins that gambling is built on.  If you eliminate these sins, gambling doesn't exist. 
    
  Here they are and I'll give you several.  Number one, gambling is built on the sin of materialism.  The whole appeal of gambling is that you can get rich, that you need more material things.  First Timothy 6:10, "The love of money is the root of...what ?...all kinds of evil."  The love of money is just another phrase for materialism and gambling is built on the love of money...win money, win money, win money, that's all you hear.  It's the whole thing.  It appeals to the materialistic lust. 
    
  Secondly, it is built on the sin of greed.  It is built on the idea that whatever you have is not enough.  It appeals to greed with outrageous prizes...outrageous prizes.  You know, the truth of the matter is...I often ask myself why they can't spread that stuff out among a lot more people...and the answer is because they couldn't make the appeal, they know that in the marketing strategy.  They couldn't...they couldn't make the appeal if they didn't make the prize staggeringly outrageous and then break it all down so that it amounts to about $50,000 dollars a year which in the end is not much at all when you think about it.  But appeals to greed with its outrageous prizes.  And the Bible has so much to say about greed.  Proverbs talks so repeatedly about what happens to greedy people.  Jesus talked about what happens to greedy people in Luke chapter 12, just mentioning, I think it's verse 15 if I remember right.  Luke 12:15 says, "Beware and be on your guard against every form of greed for even...for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions."  I mean, avoid greed because even when you get what you've been greedy for, you haven't got anything. 
    
  Thirdly, gambling is built on the sin of materialism, greed and discontent...discontent.  You don't have enough.  There's a lot more.  It's the very opposite of Philippians 4:11 where Paul says, "Not that I speak from want, I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am for I know how to get along with humble means and I also know how to live in prosperity.  In any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.  I can do all things through Him who strengthens me."  Paul says if I have it, I have it, if I don't have it, I don't have it, and that's fine.  In either case whatever God chooses to give me is enough, I will not be discontent.  Gambling is predicated on discontent. 
    
  And fourthly, it is built, as we've already seen, on exploitation.  You have to understand this, folks, for every winner there are millions of losers who have been exploited, who have been sucked in to the marketing scheme and turned into victims.  They couldn't do it any better if they walked up and down the street with guns and held people up and took money out of their wallets, if they knocked on every door and said, "Give me your ten dollars...give me fifty dollars...give me a hundred," whatever it is.  I mean, it wouldn't be any less robbery.  It is a violation, some writers say, of the eighth commandment, "Thou shalt not steal," because it takes money away, it is a subtle form of thievery.  It exploits the poor.  You can read James 5 about how God feels about the rich who exploit the poor. 
    
  Furthermore, gambling is predicated on this lust, this lazy lust for entertainment.  For some people gambling is a high, a fix.  It's a ride.  And they're lazy, rather than work they want this form of entertainment which gives them a rush and a high.  So it's sort of a combination of a lust for the thrill and laziness.  Read starting in Proverbs chapter 6, chapter 13, 15, 21, 24, read everywhere you find the sluggard mentioned, the lazy person and you'll begin to see what God says about the lazy person who tends toward poverty, who is the brother of the one who brings death. 
    
  Gambling is built on the sins of materialism, greed, discontent, exploitation and laziness, lust for entertainment.  I would say further it is built on the sin of distrusting God...distrusting God.  You know, I'll put it another way.  You know what I believe...I believe God knows what I need and I believe that God will provide what I need.  Do you believe that?  My God shall supply...what?...all your needs, according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.  I trust in God's provision for me that I can earn through work, through savings, through wise investments, through reasonable risk.  That's part of life.  But I will not distrust, I will not demean what God has provided for me by being driven by greed and lust for more in an illegitimate attempt to gain what God hasn't provided. 
    
  And then as we've said, it is built on the sin of...of disdain for work and careful planning.  It appeals to people who just want a quick track to wealth.  
    
  Another thing i would mention, just quickly and I'll close, gambling is built on the sin of irresponsible stewardship...the sin of irresponsible stewardship.  You know, you have to be careful even in laying up treasures on earth...right?...where moth and rust comes in and thieves break through and steal.  You have to be very careful about that because where your treasure is your heart is also.  You want to lay up your treasure in heaven.  There's some things in this life you can have and can enjoy and God's given us all things richly to enjoy.  But all of it should bring glory and honor to God and throwing it away in an appeal to sheer chance brings Him no glory.  I'll say more about that next Sunday morning in the most important point that I make.  It is an irresponsible act of stewardship with God's provision...and there's much about that in the New Testament, about being a good steward. 
    
  Another sin that it's built on is a failure to meet the needs of family.  Divorce rates are high.  Family breakup is high among gamblers because they squander all the family's resources.  In some ways they're worse than alcoholics.  Children don't have the food.  The wife doesn't have what she needs to run the household.  And then the children sometimes turn to crime.  The daughters are turned into prostitutes to get the money to pay the bills to gamble more money in the hope that the ship will come in.  It's predicated on irresponsible family leadership.  If a man doesn't take care of his family, he's worse than an unbeliever...right?...1 Timothy 5:8.  And it's built on the sin of not loving your neighbor.  Now I said this earlier and I say it again...if you have some extra, give it to somebody who needs it.  Don't throw it away in some appeal to chance.  It's a failure...it's built on a failure to give to others generously.  If you really love your neighbor you're going to give him what he needs.  If you see your neighbor have a need, give him what he needs.  Look not on your own things but on the things of others.  Gambling exploits the needy. 

  I would draw your attention to Isaiah chapter 65 verses 11 and 12, these are worth writing down.  Isaiah chapter 65 verses 11 and 12 help us to understand how God views this matter of gambling.  It says in verses 11 and 12, "But as for you who forsake the Lord, who forget My holy mountain, who set a table for fortune and who fill cups with mixed wine for destiny, I will destine you for the sword and all of you shall bow down to the slaughter."  Let's stop at that point. 

  This is a most interesting portion of Scripture.  God says for you who spread a table for fortune and fill bowls of mixed wine for destiny, I will destine you for the sword and you will all bend down, or bow down for the slaughter.  You'll bend over to be decapitated by Me.  Why?  Because you spread a table for fortune and fill bowls of mixed wine for destiny.  Spreading a table means bringing food to an idol.   Filling bowls of mixed wine means bringing wine to an idol.  And the two gods that the people of Israel were worshiping, one was the god Fortune and the other was the god Destiny.  If you want another name for destiny it's luck or chance.  God says because you are bowing to luck and chance, I'll decapitate you.  Fortune comes from the Hebrew word gad and it means luck.  Destiny comes from the Hebrew word Meni and it means bad luck.  Gad usually means good luck, Meni means bad luck...m-e-n-i in the English alliteration.  So they were worshiping the god of good luck and the god of bad luck and they were bringing offerings to the god of bad luck and offerings to the god of good luck.  Gad combined as Baal-gad means "lord of luck."  And they were worshiping Baal-gad, the lord of luck, as a part of their ancient worship of Baal, Joshua 11:17, Joshua 12:7, Joshua 13:5.  In Numbers 13:10 gad, Gadiel literally, Gadiel means god of my luck, or my luck god.  And they were worshiping the god of good luck and the god of bad luck, faith in luck and faith in God are mutually exclusive ideas.  In Isaiah 65:12 that I just read you, pronounces judgment on those who worship the false gods of luck. 

  To believe in luck is to believe that God doesn't exist or that God's not sovereign.  If God does exist and He does, and since He is all powerful, all knowing, He is the creator and the sustainer of the universe, He is the one who upholds everything by His own power and brings to pass His own will, there is no such thing as luck.  It is non-existent and chance is non-existent.  Things don't just happen randomly by chance.  Chance is nothing.  It's non-existent. 

  They tell us, these very educated scientists, that the whole universe came into existence by chance.  That is a level of idiocy that is beyond description because that is to say that the whole universe came into chance from absolutely nothing because chance is nothing.  But if you believe that everything in this universe came into existence from nothing, and that it all just happened because of luck, or chance, if you'll buy those odds then go to Las Vegas because gambling is a certainly clear corollary to that view of the universe.  But if you know that God created the universe, every molecule of it, every atom of it, every component of every atom of it and that He created it all precisely the way He wanted it, sustains it the way He wants to sustain it and directs it to the ends for which He has made plans, if you understand that there is no such thing as luck or chance, then why would you gamble?  Chance stands in direct opposition to a purposeful creation.  It stands in direct opposition to a creation ordered and directed by the sovereign God of the universe.  Chance is the personification of anarchy.  It's the personification of nihilism.  God is in control of everything.  Chance is non-existent.  Luck is non-existent. 
    
  Life is not a gamble.  There is no such thing as luck.  There's no such thing as chance.  Rabbits can keep their feet.  God is in control of the non-Christian's life, God is in control of the Christian's life and God is in control of life itself.  Depending on luck and chance is a philosophy which deifies nothing.  It's a form of idolatry and Israel was doing it.  They were worshiping the god of good luck and the god of bad luck, unbelievable. 

  Our God is a sovereign God and He reigns in heaven above and on earth below.  And worship of idols is detestable to Him.  And believing in luck and chance is idolatry.  Whatever you have is not by chance.  Whatever you have is from God.  Whatever you don't have, God didn't give you.  Whatever you do have, He gave you.  If He's withheld from you, it's according to His purpose.  If He's given to you, that's according to His purpose also.  And in the end it works into His plan.

  Gambling is not good stewardship of what God has given us.  In fact, it's not stewardship at all.  The Bible teaches us, and here's the bottom line on this point, "The earth is the Lord's and all it contains, the world and those who dwell in it," Psalm 24:1, everything is God's.  Everything is God's.  Everything in the whole universe belongs to Him.  It doesn't belong to us, it belongs to Him.  And it all is to be used for His glory.  "Whatever you do, whether you eat or drink, do all to the glory of God."  Everything is to be for His glory. 
    
  Psalm 50, listen to verses 10 to 12, "Every beast of the forest is Mine, the cattle on a thousand hills.  I know every bird of the mountains and everything that moves in the field is Mine.  If I were hungry, I wouldn't tell you for the world is Mine and all it contains."  Everything is His.  He owns it all.  It's all His.  And we have it put into our trust to be used to bring Him honor. 
    
  The illustration of this that is most notable is found in Matthew chapter 25, and I want to have you turn to it for a moment.  We don't have a lot of time this morning because we want to have time for the Lord's table and we will, but this passage needs to be addressed because it teaches such a good point.  Matthew 25, Jesus in verse 14 gives a parable of some stewards who were given some property to manage by the estate owner, the homeowner, land owner.  And he was going away and he wanted to see how they would manage what they were given.  And when he came back, you remember the story, he gave to the first one five talents, now those would be a measurement, a talent was a measurement of silver usually.  So he gave him five talents.  Gave another one two, verse 15.  And another one--one.  And he went away to see what these guys did with the stewardship. 
    
  And immediately verse 16 says the one who received the five talents went out and traded.  Went out and went to work.  He went out and did some business, buying and selling and whatever, investing, whatever he did and doubled his money.  And the next guy took the two, did the same thing.  The one who received the one talent went away and dug in the ground and hid his master's money.  He didn't do anything, he just buried it in the hole and just kind of hung around. 
    
  Well the man came back and, of course, he rewarded the ones who had demonstrated such good stewardship.  In verse 24 the one also who had received the one talent came up and said, "Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed."  And I think he exaggerates the case here, how tough this guy is, expecting something out of nothing.  "And I was afraid and went away and hid your talent in the ground, see you have what is your's.  I didn't lose it.  I didn't lose it, it's here, I buried it real deep in a secret place so nobody could get it, here." 
    
  You say, "Well, you know, it's...hey, I mean, he could have lost it.  Maybe this is okay.  Maybe this is passable."  Well verse 26, "His master answered and said to him, You wicked, lazy slave."  And there is the point.  Why didn't he multiply the amount?  Because of what?  Laziness.  Every...every opportunity was provided for him with a little bit of effort to multiply that and it was not enough for the master that he hadn't lost it, that didn't gain him any ground at all.  He said, "The least you could have done was taken a walk to the bank and put it in there and I would have had some interest."  So verse 28, "Take away the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten talents." 
    
  And then verse 30, "Cast out the worthless slave into the outer darkness in that place where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."  He sent him to hell. 
    
  You say, "Well, boy, I mean, he didn't lose what he had."  No, but the point was he should have made something of it.  God is not content that we just keep what we have, He wants us to use it for His honor and His glory.  I'll tell you something, if that servant was sent to hell just for keeping what he had and not multiplying it, what's going to happen to the person who wasted what he had? 
    
  When God gives you a stewardship of resources in life, He expects you to use them for His glory.  "Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."  Moreover, 1 Corinthians 4:2 is required of stewards that a man be found...what?...faithful.  You certainly can't gamble, you can't bring your offering and bow before the god of destiny or the god of fortune or the gods of luck and expect that to be a stewardship to God's glory.  Everybody who gambles loses their money.  The few who win a little usually lose that later on.  The worst stewardship of God's gift possible is to throw it away at some god called luck, that's idolatry and bad stewardship. 
    
  Third principle, gambling displaces and demeans the God-given place of work...gambling displaces and demeans the God-given place of work.  God has designed work as a blessing, you understand that?  The old saying, "Idle hands are the devil's plaything" is true.  God didn't just give us work because it was...it was good for Him, He gave us work because it was good for us because fallen people need to be preoccupied with something other than temptation.  Genesis 3:19 God laid it out, "By the sweat of your brow you'll eat your food."  You're going to have to go to work, it's for your benefit, the battle for bread.  Proverbs 12:11 says, "He who works his land will have abundant food, but he who chases fantasies lacks judgment." 

  Now there's not a better example of chasing fantasies than gambling which causes people to disdain work and throw away their money like fools.  Now you can even do it by phone on the Internet, throw away money you don't have and get so badly in debt that you may never be able to extract yourself.  
    
  Proverbs 13:22 it says, "A good man leaves an inheritance to his grandchildren."  Instead of wasting your money chasing the god of chance, you ought to be setting it aside so that as a good man you have something to leave to your children and your grandchildren. 
    
  Work is a command from God.  It's a gift from God.  It's a good gift.  Ephesians 4:28 says, "Let the one who stole steal no more but let him work with his hands, providing for himself and those around him."  Colossians 3, as we saw last Sunday night in our discussion of work, talks about how we're to work as if we were working for the Lord Himself.  Second Thessalonians says if you don't work, you shouldn't eat.  First Timothy 5:8 says if a man doesn't work and provide for his household, he's worse than an infidel, an unbeliever. 

  Irresponsibility in the realm of work is an abdication of what it is to be human, to say nothing of abdicating and disobeying the duty that God has given to us.  God's world is a place of order and purpose, it's not a place of undefined chaos being run by the gods of luck.  And God has designed for us to work and that we should be blessed by that work.  He's designed for us to use our reasoning capability and be blessed through the application of that reasoning ability.  By those means He would meet our needs and we would enjoy the goodness of life. 

  Fourthly, gambling is driven by the sin of covetousness.  Gambling violates directly the tenth command which is not to covet, Exodus 20:17, Deuteronomy 5:21.  Gambling exists because the sin of greed feeds covetousness.  It betrays discontent with God's provision.  Luke 12:15, Jesus said, "Beware and be on your guard against every form of greed for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions." 

  Did any of you see that thing on happiness the other night on 20-20?  John Stossel's report where he interviewed all the people who won the lottery who were so miserable...they were miserable, their marriages had broken up, their families were a mess, and all their friends hated them because they wouldn't give them any of their money.  And John Stossel was giving the report on happiness and somebody said to him, "Are you happy?"  And he said, "No."  A man's life doesn't consist in the abundance of things he possesses.  I mean, we're warned about that repeatedly over and over and over again.  Whatever you have is what God has provided for you.  And whatever you don't have is what He hasn't provided for you. 

  But gambling makes a persistent appeal to covetousness and is fundamentally opposed to the unselfishness which was taught by Jesus Christ and by the New Testament.  The attempt inseparable from gambling to make a profit out of the inevitable loss and suffering of others is certainly the antithesis of loving your neighbor as yourself.  If we're ever going to curb gambling, we're going to have to curb covetousness...pretty formidable task.   Greed, materialism, love of money, they flourish in a gambling environment.  Gambling built on covetousness is an act of unfaithfulness to God because it assumes that God has not given us what we ought to have.  He hasn't given us enough and it assumes that more is a good thing.  Is it? 

  Listen to Proverbs 30 verse 7, "Two things I asked of thee, do not refuse me before I die."  I only want two things in life, he says.  "One, keep deception and lies far from me...keep deception and lies far from me."  I want the truth.  I want truth.  That's a noble request.  Much like Solomon seeking wisdom.  Here's the second one, "Give me neither poverty nor riches.  Feed me with the food that is my portion.  You know what I can handle, You know what You want me to have, give me that.  If You give me too much, I'll be full and deny You and say...Who is the Lord?  I don't need Him.  Or if I have too little I'll steal and profane the name of my God."  I know myself and if I have too much I'll be proud and boastful and I don't need God.  And if I have too little, I'll be...I'll be tempted to steal and I'll become a thief. 

  God knows you and He knows me and He knows what we need and He knows what we can handle and He knows what tests He wants to bring into our life and He's defined the stewardship and the character of that stewardship for each of us.  I don't want yours, and I hope you don't want mine.  

  Fifth, gambling seeks gain from the loss of others.  Gambling is a violation of the eighth commandment because gambling in the end steals.  You might as well break into the house and take what they have.  It steals from the losers.  It is fundamentally a violation of the command to love your neighbor.  It takes money from others.  It strips families of resources.  It increases debt.  It leads to poverty.  It leads to suicide.  Twenty percent of addictive gamblers have attempted suicide and the suicide rate of the spouses of compulsive gamblers is 150 times the national average.  Gambling is pursuing prosperity at another's expense, exploiting the poor and the undisciplined.  Teaches greed, covetousness, and attacks the ethics of hard work, saving, self-denial, capital accumulation, exalt Hedonism, and on demand gratification. 

  So gambling is seductive.  It lures people in.  And Paul says some things are permissible but not beneficial.  Some things are permissible but I won't be brought under the power of any.  Gambling is so seductive.  Forty percent of white collar crime in America is caused by compulsive gamblers.  Gambling is a choice, it's a bad one.  It destroys individuals.  It destroys marriages.  It destroys families.  It destroys society. 

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