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NASB | Hebrews 13:17 ¶ Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Hebrews 13:17 ¶ Obey your [spiritual] leaders and submit to them [recognizing their authority over you], for they are keeping watch over your souls and continually guarding your spiritual welfare as those who will give an account [of their stewardship of you]. Let them do this with joy and not with grief and groans, for this would be of no benefit to you. |
Bible Question (short): Fundraising raffle vs gambling |
Question (full): I have an issue that is quite controversial and I am seeking a biblical answer. I am hoping that you may shed some light on the subject. I have a non-profit organization called Thandiwe Children's Trust. We are dedicated to the welfare of orphaned and abandoned children and other children in crisis. We are in the process of starting up a children's foster care home. My husband and I started this charity through a God-given vision. We do not have much money of our own and we are initiating different fundraising projects. Our current project is a fundraising raffle ticket. We have a weeks holiday donated by RCI resorts and we have 16 different smaller prizes. The raffle tickets cost R10 each. There are 10 tickets in a raffle ticket book and those taking a book will donate R90 and get one free ticket. I wanted to tell our congregation at our church, about the raffle and request that they support us by buying tickets to help us raise funds. We also were hoping that they would take a couple of books each and sell tickets to their friends and family and so on. We are totally reliant on donations and if we desperately need to get funds in in order to pay our bond and other running costs. Our pastor and one other leader discussed it and decided that it is not appropriate as it constitutes gambling. They do not want me to tell the congregation about it. I was quite upset about this as it is a simple fundraising for charity. They say that it is a fine line and quite a grey area. To me a raffle ticket incentivises someone to donate. The winners are determined by a draw. They will not receive money in exchange, but a prize. It is a process of chance, but is that so wrong? If I remember correctly, the apostles had a draw to determine who the new apostle was going to be after Judas' demise. I would appreciate it if you would consider this problem and let me know what your deliberation is. In the Lamb Mandy Geerdts Thandiwe Children's Trust South Africa Tel: 27 01 787 6072 Fax: 27 01 447 1090 Email: mandy@lighthousecreative.co.za |