Bible Question: Where in the Bible can I find that it is a sin to play the lottery, football boards, etc. |
Bible Answer: Gambling Part 1 (Note: Numbers in the text are references to footnotes.) THUS SAITH THE LORD "There is no "Eleventh Commandment" in the Bible saying "Thou shalt not gamble." However, gambling violates at least five doctrines of Scripture: the sovereignty of God, stewardship, covetousness, brotherly love, and God’s instruction not to be brought under the power of anything. Sovereignty of God "Belief in luck and belief in a sovereign God are mutually exclusive, for if an omniscient, omnipotent Creator God exists then luck makes no sense. Things don’t "just happen." Nothing — including the secondary causes operative in the universe (the "laws" of nature and human choices) — happens outside of God’s will and disposition. So belief in God not only dispells any idea of luck, it also rejects any idea of chance as a determining factor in natural events or people’s destiny. "Depending upon luck and chance is a philosophy which deifies an impersonal view of life and of reality."32 Any trust in luck rather than God is therefore a form of idolatry. "What appears to be chance to the finite human mind is known to a sovereign God. Casting of lots, for example, is a biblical illustration not of gambling (for no money or other value was placed at risk in hopes of greater gain) but of individuals trusting a sovereign God to direct the "chance" disposition or direction of the lay of the lots. People used "chance" to understand God’s will. Their faith was not in chance but in God. But belief in chance as fate stands in direct opposition to a purposeful creation, ordered and directed by the Sovereign God of the universe. Chance without God is the personification of anarchy and nihilism. God controls, not chance (Amos 3:6).33 "The idea that events are ultimately disposed merely by chance is akin to superstition. Pagan superstition is a violation of God’s will. Worshipping the gods of luck and chance is an offense to His character. Gambling is a kind of "secularized divination."34 It promotes a world view in direct contradiction to biblical Christianity. Stewardship "God says in Proverbs that "he who works his land will have abundant food, but he who chases fantasies lacks judgment" (12:11). People often chase fantasies, yielding to the lure of quick riches, the "something-for-nothing" enchantment. But God gives people time, talent, and treasure with an expectation of accountability (Matt. 25:14–30). The Bible teaches that we are to use our God–given wealth to support our families, God’s work, the government, and the needy. "Gambling can undermine the foundations of Christian stewardship — work, rationality, and responsibility. But work is both a command and a gift of God (2 Thess. 3:6–12). And reason is an essential part of being human. "Irresponsibility is man’s abdication of his humanity. We are made to be moral decision-making creatures."35 (to be continued) |