9But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition.10For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.11But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.
We have to make sure that we are not obsessed by the desire for something more - that we are not so greedy that we are willing to do anything, including immoral activity, in order to accumulate more wealth. That could include overt activities, such as gambling, which takes advantage of other people in order to provide increased resources, or making a sale using deceptive techniques. Or, it could involve more covert decisions, such as misrepresenting information on an expense account.
Greed can also be accompanied by other sinful actions, such as stealing or lying. We have to make sure that we are not pursuing selfish desires regarding our financial resources. And, make sure that we are giving according to the Scriptural prescription, too.
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The Bible teaches the sowing and reaping principle clearly, and if you participate in activity that contradicts its teaching, there is a negative effect. That can actually be expanded to our culture, especially to the area of gambling. Here are the words of Isaiah 65 (New American Standard):
11"But 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,12I will destine you for the sword, And all of you will bow down to the slaughter. Because I called, but you did not answer; I spoke, but you did not hear. And you did evil in My sight And chose that in which I did not delight."
It's been described as a "mirror-like bauble of a hotel," the most visible presence on the skyline of a city that is experiencing economic decline and dramatic job loss, propped up by an industry that has a dubious premise - build up the false hope of patrons, making some winners while creating a mass number of losers.
In Atlantic City, New Jersey, the Revel hotel announced it would close next month. It is the fourth closure of a casino/hotel in the city this year. It is a 57-floor hotel, a $2.6 billion monstrosity that received more than $250 million in tax breaks from Gov. Christie's administration to get up and running, according to a report on the NJ.com website.
Competition from neighboring states such as Pennsylvania and Maryland has been cited as one of the reasons for the decline, oversaturation another. And, Pennsylvania officials are greedy for more from the gambling golden goose. The Pennsylvania Pastors Network decried a proposal to expand gambling in the state by allowing online gambling and relaxing casino restrictions.
Pennsylvania Pastors Network President Sam Rohrer, also President of the American Pastors Network, said: “It is sad that in a culture desperate for moral leadership, our Governor and legislative leaders would seriously consider expanded gambling to ‘fix’ the current financial need. By its very nature, gambling preys on the vulnerable, the elderly and those who are desperate enough to risk losing what they can’t afford. We at the Pennsylvania Pastors Network call on our Governor and legislative leaders to resist the temptation to cowardly pursue the unethical path of expanded gambling that benefits only special interests and transient, short-term political gains.
“Pennsylvania’s rich heritage did not come through rolling the dice in hopes of a better future, and the solution to our state’s fiscal woes won’t come through luck, either. We urge our lawmakers to stop this online gambling initiative before it starts. Fix our budgetary problems for the long-term. Don’t contribute to the problems of thousands of citizens while also creating new problems. Expanded gambling is bad for Pennsylvanians and bad for Pennsylvania.”
For the 8000 or so people that have lost their jobs in Atlantic City, gambling has been a bad bet. And, economic destabilization is just one of the many types of bad fruit that gambling produces. Chad Hills of CitizenLink says that researchers often define gambling’s fruit as the ABCs of Gambling (from a 2010 piece on the CitizenLink website):
Addiction - You could fill 214 NFL stadiums to capacity with addicted gamblers in the U.S.
Bankruptcy – The single fastest-growing driver of bankruptcy.
Crime (including organized crime) – Three years after casinos entered Atlantic City, NJ, crime tripled.
Domestic abuse and Divorce - Domestic abuse and divorce increase drastically.
Economic destabilization - Gambling costs society $3 for every $1 in taxed revenue.
Family destruction – Gambling addiction destroys families from within.
Government corruption – Politicians are bought out by gambling interests.
Suicide - One in five pathological gamblers attempts suicide.
State revenues - Are they worth the cost? (The Rockefeller Report indicates "no.")
Certainly, gambling produces bad fruit, and it is an activity that contradicts the heart of God, as Hills points out in another post on the CitizenLink website:
God’s nature is rooted in love and truth. It is sacrificial and other-centered (John 3:16-17). Christ came to earth to testify to the truth and set us free (John 18:33-38; John 8:31-32) and His truth conforms to reality, not deception. He is dedicated to service, not exploitation (Romans 12). He warns against idle hands, ill-gotten riches and malicious or deceitful men (Proverbs 6).
Gambling is rooted in greed and deception. The sole purpose of the $90-billion-plus gambling conglomerate is to lure you in with false hope, take your money and make you “chase” your losses – believing you can win – by gambling more!
Gambling is self-serving. You win through others’ losses. Conversely, God’s nature is to sacrifice Himself for others’ well-being. God gave up His only Son, so that all might have eternal life.Participation in gambling is participating in activity that contradicts the Scriptures, plain and simple. The evidence is abundant. Just because the industry lures people with false hope, with shiny buildings and the promise of "winning," the fact is that it is a losing proposition - morally, economically, and as a matter of governmental policy. When lawmakers begin to talk about casino gambling and a lottery as revenue-enhancing proposals, remember the admonitions from the Scriptures and be vocal and steadfast in confronting this move to authorize immoral activity. Faith Radio continues to stand strong against the plague of gambling in our society.
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