From Gambling to God

It's important to examine our behavior in the light of Scripture and make sure that we are not engaging in nor supporting activity that doesn't line up. In John 3, Jesus says:
19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.
21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."

There is a difference between personal preference, or matters of conscience, and participation or endorsement of what the Bible determines to be sin.  I don't believe that the poor financial stewardship of the activity known as gambling represents the light of Christ, and it is not something that we should endorse as Christians, because it is harmful, addictive, and aligns with what the Bible teaches as "darkness."  Yet, there are those in government that want more of it in our state.  We have to pray and speak out about cultural trends that do not represent the heart of God.

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The Bible instructs to flee from activity that doesn't bring glory to God and to expose what it calls "evil deeds of darkness," in a passage from Ephesians 5:
8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light
9 (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth),
10 finding out what is acceptable to the Lord.
11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.
12 For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret.
13 But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light.

On his 21st birthday, in Las Vegas, John Simmons entered a room that would change his life - but not for the better; that's according to the God Reports website, which says:

“There’s no better feeling than putting in a wad of money in your pocket knowing you didn’t really do anything to earn it,” says Simmons on a CBN video. “There’s a lot of adrenaline that builds up in your heart. The feeling of chasing that moment is intense.”

It was the start of a decade-long gambling addiction that saw John, from St. Louis, Missouri, fall into more than $200,000 of debt, depression and hopelessness.

But, it started out OK, or so it seemed: John worked in the casino industry as a dealer. He says:

“Gambling gave me a sense of purpose. It gave me a sense of identity,” John says. “I would be a person that could be seen by others as a multimillionaire. If I wasn’t working, I was playing. If I wasn’t playing, I was sleeping.”

And, while he was playing, he got played - to the tune of greater than $200,000 of debt. And, catch how this cycle of deception works; he says, "In my mind, it wasn’t that I was failing. I just needed to keep going and figure out how to fix it,” adding, “If only I could win the next thing, none of these losses matter. I would spend my entire paycheck over the course of a weekend trying to chase my debts. A lot of times, I had zero dollars in my pocket."

So, he was addicted. He went into a group for gamblers, tried to get "clean," but he started over again and thought about ending his life. That is, until he really ended his life - by losing his life and embracing the new life only possible through Jesus Christ. 

According to the God Reports article, John said: “I didn’t know who Jesus was,...I said, ‘God, if You’re real, I need you to show a future and hope for my life because I just don’t have one anymore.’” The article relates:

God responded.

“The kingdom of Heaven is upon you,” the Father said.

“That meant nothing to me. I didn’t understand those words in any way, shape or form,” he says.

But he thumbed through a Bible and read the Book of Matthew.

He hit Matthew 3:2: “Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is upon you.”

John was stunned. The same words he heard without understanding were written in the Bible.

“I was like, ‘God is real, He’s talking to me,’” he says.

John cried out to God: “God, I’ve messed up. I’ve done bad things, and I don’t want to do those things anymore. I need Your help. I need You to forgive me.”

He committed his life to Jesus Christ and was born-again.

Fast-forward: the article says that, "In a couple of years, John paid off his gambling debts. He married and had two kids...He launched a weekly radio program and podcast to reach out to fellow gamblers." His Instagram page says that he started a ministry called Testimony House, and serves on the staff of a church in St. Louis.

The Bible instructs us not to participate in "works of darkness" that it describes as "unfruitful." So, there is a two-fold call for the believer in Christ who seeks to be salt and light, as Jesus taught in Matthew chapter 5.  We are called not only to reject the darkness and shine the light of Christ to overcome it personally, but we are to do so culturally, as well - we must be concerned for our personal behavior and exhibit compassion for what is occurring in culture that would meet the criteria to be considered as "darkness."  

That is why we discuss gambling on this program when the Alabama Legislature, as it has done multiple times in the past, is considering an expansion of this harmful activity that creates tremendous amounts of losers with few winners, except for the gambling industry and those associated with it.  The latest iteration of this type of legislation is currently being considered, and you are encouraged to be in prayer and to contact your legislator and encourage him or her to vote against any gambling legislation. You can find contact information through the legislature's website.  This is what is means to be salt and light; this is what is means to shine the light into darkness. This is an issue of financial stewardship and spiritual obedience.