by T. Sean Sullivan<\/p>\n
Are you familiar with, or have you ever heard any of these terms: Raffle, bingo, chances, scratch n\u2019 win, lottery, or gaming? Have you ever made a \u201cwager\u201d on the outcome of a sports event? The Super Bowl is coming up in a couple of weeks. It is one of the most gambled events of the year.\u00a0\u00a0Our country is overwhelmed with the opportunities to gamble: The top three addictions in our society are alcohol, drugs, and gambling. The promises are \u201cthousands\u201d here, and \u201cmillions\u201d there, and you know \u201csomebody\u2019s got to win\u201d \u2014 however, the reality is that millions of dollars are gambled and lost before anyone ever walks away with money.<\/p>\n
Gambling is everywhere. Gambling is a hard word that is softened by the term lottery. There are several \u201cState Lotteries\u201d that promise big things for the population and actually the only big thing is their profit. For example, The Ohio State lottery has six \u201cgames\u201d the 2004 ticket revenue was 2 Billion 154.2 million dollars. To put that into perspective there are 11.4 million people living in the state of Ohio. Their ticket sales would equal each person in Ohio buying $189 dollars worth of tickets. Now let\u2019s say that only one in three adults actually plays that $567 dollars worth of tickets. That is a lot of money to throw in the garbage, isn\u2019t it? When you really open your eyes, it isn\u2019t just a dollar anymore.<\/p>\n
Does the Bible condemn such activities? We must search the scriptures and then we will know what God expects of us in this and any other situation. Not every sin has a \u201cthou shall not\u201d, but the Bible does tell us how to develop our senses in order to discern both good and evil (Hebrews\u00a05:12-14).<\/p>\n
Perhaps not specifically but the Bible does, however, condemn gambling on its principles.\u00a0\u00a0What is the agenda of gambling? On the part of the Lottery Business: to feed on the public\u2019s greed and to have more ticket revenue, than prize payout (barely more than half of the ticket revenue is ever paid out in winnings). Then on the part of the public: to get something for nothing and to get as much money as possible for as little effort as possible.<\/p>\n
The Bible speaks clearly about these things. Greed is covetousness, look at greed in the light of the scriptures: Romans 1:28-32 \u201csuch a little sin?\u201d It is mentioned here along with \u201chaters of God\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0Ephesians 4:17-24 instructs us to no longer walk as those that are given over to greediness. 1 Timothy 6:10, to pursue \u201cgreediness\u201d is to \u201cstray from the faith\u201d.<\/p>\n
What about getting something for nothing?\u00a0\u00a0The picture of the lottery is getting everything you ever wanted without any effort. From the time that man was driven out of the garden we were told that we must work for our sustenance (Genesis\u00a03:19). If a man does not work, he shouldn\u2019t eat (2 Thessalonians\u00a03:10-12). There are people in this life that get things that they do not work for by taking advantage of others. They are called thieves. We are to work and receive our livelihood (1 Thessalonians\u00a04:11)<\/p>\n
Why do you think that you need that much money? Are you not content with what God has given you? Do you think you deserve more? Not all of us are ten talent people (Matthew 25:14-30 \u201cEach was given a measure according to their ability\u201d). We are given according to our ability. We need to have the wise attitude of Agar in Proverbs 30: 7-9<\/p>\n
Become content: Learn to find your happiness in Christ, like Paul (Philippians 4:9-13). Also, consider I Timothy 6:6 and Hebrews 13:5.<\/p>\n
When a person desires to win the lottery they silently, but surely, proclaim: They have needs that God cannot meet (Matthew\u00a06:25-34). They want their treasures now on earth and not in Heaven (Matthew\u00a06:19-21). They don\u2019t trust God (1Timothy\u00a06:17).<\/p>\n
We must develop our trust in God. The God of Heaven who, with the words of His mouth, spoke all things into existence. Who, by His own great power, was able to make this world from nothing, has promised to never forsake you or leave you (Hebrews 13:5).<\/p>\n
Examine all the things that God has done for you in this life: your home, your health, your talents. As long as we have not wasted our talents or buried them we all should be doing the best we can. God knows our needs Matthew\u00a06:32, if we do not appreciate what we have been given we will squander it away and will not be able to meet our needs. The things that we waste are what we have received from God in order to meet those needs.<\/p>\n
Is gambling a sin? Is covetousness a sin? Is greed a sin? Is materialism a sin? Is the love of money the root of all kinds of evil? So an activity that involves all of those things is certainly a sin.<\/p>\n
That \u201cInnocent one dollar ticket\u201d says, \u201cBuy me, one dollar is not going to break you\u201d. Is that the point? Just because you do not go broke, is wasteful, covetous, greedy behavior approved. If you think that five hundred dollars doesn\u2019t make a difference to your life and you can, therefore, use it any way you want consider this: Forget the lottery give it to the Lord and see what great things can be accomplished.<\/p>\n
We must trust in God to take care of us according to His will. And no, God does not will that you make personal gain through immoral, or inappropriate means. It simply boils down to a statement Jesus made one time in a garden, \u201cYour will, not my own be done.\u201d Let\u2019s start living that way.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by T. Sean Sullivan Are you familiar with, or have you ever heard any of these terms: Raffle, bingo, chances, scratch n\u2019 win, lottery, or gaming? Have you ever made a \u201cwager\u201d on the outcome of a sports event? The Super Bowl is coming up in a couple of weeks. It is one of the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[815],"class_list":["post-14799","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-gambling"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8879,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-make-believe-gambling-in-a-game-still-wrong\/","url_meta":{"origin":14799,"position":0},"title":"Is make-believe gambling in a game still wrong?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 1, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: There is one game I like to play which is a completely free game. There is a new feature called lottery where I am guessing you pay with game points for a chance to win something. Is that considered a sin in that case? It is impossible for a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":46764,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-dont-gamble-so-what-should-i-do-with-gifts-of-lottery-tickets\/","url_meta":{"origin":14799,"position":1},"title":"I don’t gamble, so what should I do with gifts of lottery tickets?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 21, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: My fianc\u00e9e was given lottery tickets at work. We share the same stance on the principles of gambling. My family also likes to give lottery tickets for Christmas. This is my first Christmas being a member of the Lord's church. How would you suggest Christians handle gifts like that?\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":85664,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-christian-and-gambling\/","url_meta":{"origin":14799,"position":2},"title":"The Christian and Gambling","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 15, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Dudley Ross Spears via\u00a0Sentry Magazine, Vol. 16 No. 2, June 30, 1990 More States in our Union are adopting state-operated lotteries to increase revenue. Every citizen of every state, especially Christians, must understand the issues involved. This is not being written to influence anyone politically but rather to urge\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14810,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/gambling\/","url_meta":{"origin":14799,"position":3},"title":"Gambling","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 5, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Text: Colossians 3:1-10 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Gambling is now rampant in our nation \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Not too long ago, the only gambling available were raffle tickets, bingo games at the Catholic Church, and casinos in La Vegas, Nevada. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0No longer! Gambling is everywhere: at the gas station, at the corner market, even at my\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":60918,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-price-gambling\/","url_meta":{"origin":14799,"position":4},"title":"What Price Gambling?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 28, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"by Wayne S. Walker Several years ago, when I lived in Ohio, there was instituted a state lottery which was supposed to be the salvation of the educational system. Many, and perhaps most, other states now have them too. Although it has been plagued with problems, pari-mutuel betting is allowed\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":54437,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/not-what-they-told-you-gambling\/","url_meta":{"origin":14799,"position":5},"title":"Not What They Told You – Gambling","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 4, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Proverbs 28:19-22 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Gambling is not a new problem \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0But it has become a big business. Every state in the United States has some form of legal gambling \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Though Nebraska is the least state addicted to gambling, it still exists (the next lowest are Alabama,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14799","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14799"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14799\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14799"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14799"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14799"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}