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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | is gambling a sin | Hag 2:8 | Makarios | 223524 | ||
Greetings Lowrenzo, You asked, "Is gambling a sin?" "Many years ago Charles Kingsley, as "Parson Lot," inaugurated a valiant crusade against the mammon worship of his day. Of course he met with the bitter and virulent hositility of all who loved money more than justice and brotherly love. But he earned an undying reputation as the friend and champion of humanity. We want another "Parson Lot" in these days to teach us that money is not a thing to be played with at the will of its possessor. Nothing will help so much to solve certain modern problems as the dissemination of Bible teaching regarding money. The idea of the Bible is distinctly that of stewardship. The money you put away in the bank is, in a limited and mechanical sense, your own property. But looked at from the higher and more Christian standpoint, it is not yours at all. It is given to you as a trust, not as a possession. If that great and unassailable principle could prevail in the minds and hearts of men, gambling would be annihilated once and for all. Because the old stock argument in favor of betting-it generally comes from flabby, unhealthy young men of dissipated life and restricted intellect- is this: "Oh, but you know, old fellow, a man can do as he likes with his own money." Certainly; I grant that entirely. But the fact is that the money is not yours. God has placed it in your hands for fifty or sixty years, and there will come a day of reckoning when He will want to know what good you have accomplished, what poverty you have relieved and what evil you have destroyed by the powerful and influential gift which He intrusted in your keeping. One hardly likes to think what the result will be when you have to confess that you tossed the gold to the devil- that you flung it away at poker or that you handed it to some rascally poolseller." "The fact is, that nothing very helpful will be done until we clear our minds of cant. The practical common-sense of solemn dignitaries who fervently denounce betting and then sit down to play whist for dime points is somewhat difficult to detect. The wisdom of arresting one gambler and asking another to open a church bazaar is scarcely perceptible to the man in the street. Betting is fashionable; the gambler is a respected, or at least a tolerated, individual, and even the great mass of Christian men and women have not yet had their eyes opened to the awful havoc caused by this passionate lust for gain. When they see how it robs men of character, health, and friends; when they realize that horse-racing has more votaries than any religion; then, I believe, they will rise up and denounce it fearlessly. The literature of the turf is enormous in extent and worldwide in influence. It provides a risky excitement for the rich and a hideous fever for the poor. It shows men how to get hold of their neighbors' property without giving any honest equivalent, which means, in plain English, that it makes men thieves. It is simply alarming to contemplate the extent to which the deadly contagion is spreading through the country. Boys bet; young men neglect the beauties of literature for the 'tips' of sporting papers; and scarcely an office is without its sweep-stake on the Derby or the boatrace. This vice controls its victims with a fascination which is absolutely devilish, and the unutterable ruin which it inevitably works is almost heartbreaking. I therefore call upon every earnest, manly, Christian fellow to do all he can to stamp out this degrading and unchivalrous habit. For this two reasons are sufficient:- (1) It must be wrong to accept money for which you have given nothing in return; and (2) it is the very essense of selfishness to use, as Kingsley says, "what you fancy your superior knowledge of a horse's merits to your neighbor's harm." "Work faithfully," says Mr. Ruskin, "and you will put yourself in possession of a glorious and enlarging happiness; not such as can be won by the speed of a horse or marred by the obliquity of a ball." "All thoughtful and observant men must admit that materialism is the dominant peril of our age. As young men, therefore, we must be on our guard. Wealth is a useful servant when guarded by charity and wisdom, but it is a tyrannical master, and holds its subjects in galling and miserable servitude. Christ never thought much of money. The most hopeless and melancholy characters He ever drew were rich men." Taken from pages 13-19 of "First Battles, And How to Fight Them - Some Friendly Chats with Young Men" by Frederick A. Atkins. Copyright 1891 by Fleming H. Revell Company, the Library of Congress at Washington D.C. |
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2 | is gambling a sin | Hag 2:8 | Beja | 223527 | ||
Just my 2 cents, I have a hard time saying that gambling is a sin. First, I currently know of no scripture that does so. What we do know is that greed, covetousness and the love of money are sins. However, that does not necessarily mean that gambling is a sin. There have been several nights in my past that I sat with my brothers and their wives and we all played Texas Hold em' with nickles, dimes, and quarters. If after four hours of playing and laughing any individual was down two dollars it was about as horrible of a loss as we saw. Each time we all lost more money on sodas and chips consumed than the game itself. I have a very hard time looking back and saying that was sinful. So what I think is more appropriate is to identify the sins I listed earlier and be clear that those are sins. The condemnation of gambling in and of itself seems to me to be like forbidding dancing because lust is a sin. To be sure, some dancing is lustful, but there are many forms of dancing that is lighthearted, fun, and not in the least sinful. When my daughter is married I assure you I intend to dance with her. And if next new years my brothers wish to spend it playing a little Texas Hold em' I shall do that as well. But...these are just my thoughts; let each of us be convinced in their own minds. Romans 14:5 In Christ, Beja |
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Questions and/or Subjects for Hag 2:8 | Author | ||
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lowrenzo | ||
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Makarios | ||
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Beja | ||
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wireless |