Should Christians Engage in Gambling?

SHOULD CHRISTIANS ENGAGE IN GAMBLING? 

By Ezekiel Kimosop 

Gambling goes with several related acronyms and synonyms such as betting, gaming, lottery or wagering. My response to the above question is informed by two primary questions as follows:-

1. What is the primary objective that drives people to addictive gambling?

2. Who is the ultimate owner of the resources that addicted gamblers apply in gambling?

In my view, the answer to first question is thus: the addicted gambler covets big money which they hope to make in a quick and easy way by sheer luck! They seek to strike it rich without any economic effort! 

Regarding the second question, my view is that since all resources at our disposal ultimately belong to God (Psalm 24:1-2; 50:10), we are merely stewards of any material resources that God has graciously provided to us, including our incomes and returns on our investments. We ought therefore to apply these resources in a manner that glorifies God. 

This then begs the next question: is gambling evidence of responsible stewardship in the eyes of God? Can a Bible believing Christian gamble from a clear conscience? 

My answer to these two questions is in the negative! 

I will back my view with the following relevant texts of Scripture which, in my opinion, should inform our moral prudence on this controversial issue: 

Exodus 20:17 proclaims "You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s" 

A covetous person is one that is driven by raw envy and consuming jealousy. They cannot imagine that the neighbor can surpass them in material prosperity and will expend all their energies in outwitting them. 

A gambler cannot legitimately deny that they are seeking cheap and disingenuous means of getting rich? These quick jackpot riches must be drained from someone else, another source... 🙄. It is a plus and a minus, in simple arithmetics. 

What has the gambler done to earn a jackpot prize? What investment have they expended in the process? How can his material gain, if any, be explained? Who lost the millions that fell to him? 

Ecclesiastes 5:10 says "He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver; Nor he who loves abundance, with increase. This also is vanity." (NKJV).

There is no end to the burning desire for the accumulation of millions of dollars in a person given to avarice and cheap means of gaining resources. When should a gambler stop playing lottery? A million dollars? Is there true satisfaction in gambling? 

1 Timothy 6:10 says "For 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." (NKJV)

Paul's statement in the above Scripture is a timely advisory to God's people to refrain from ungodly love for riches.  

Gambling is driven by unbridled greed for quick riches. Millions of gamblers have sold their family fortunes under their compulsive addiction to gambling and driven their families to economic and moral ruin. Is this truly what God desires of believers? Think again... 

Hebrews 13:5 says" Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you." (NKJV). 

What moral conduct or testimony does a Christian gambler project inside that dark gambling room where he spends hours trying his luck? Would one truly bear faithful witness to Christ when spinning that roulette wheel? Does gambling require a prayerful strategy? Is God in the picture? 

CONCLUSION 

I am deeply persuaded that it is immoral for a believer to employ their resources and time in gambling and wagering. We should earn our keep by legitimate and godly means. This is God's ordained method for raising a living for ourselves and our families. 

Let me now close with what I consider as a befitting exhortation and caution from Scripture that aptly speaks to this issue:

The Bible says "For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat. 11 For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busybodies. 12 Now those who are such we command and exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ that they work in quietness and eat their own bread." (2 Thessalonians 3:10-12, NKJV). 

The above Scripture promotes hard work and condemns laziness in the Christian community. Gambling belongs to the religion of Mammon where luck rather than skill and talent rules. Believers should refrain from the allure of gambling. We should be content with what we can, by God's enabling grace, achieve by meaningfully engaging our skills and talents.

There are no two ways about it, in my view. 

Shalom 

Blessed season.

© Ezekiel Kimosop 2023

Nine Divine Truths About Jesus Christ - Lessons from Hebrews 1:5-14

NINE DIVINE TRUTHS ABOUT JESUS CHRIST - LESSONS FROM A DEVOTIONAL STUDY OF HEBREWS 1:5-14

By Ezekiel Kimosop 

The following divine truths about Jesus Christ can be distilled from a devotional study of the passage of Hebrews 1:1-14 in regard to His incarnation, redemption works and ascension to heaven:

A). Jesus Christ was begotten of the Father in His incarnation (v. 5; cf. Luke 1:35).

B). Jesus Christ voluntarily submitted Himself to God the Father in His incarnation (v. 5). He voluntarily forsook His divine glory in Heaven and came to offer Himself as God's sacrificial Lamb for our redemption (Philippians 2:1-11).

C). Jesus Christ was and is divine in every essence and is worthy of worship (v. 6, cf. Matthew 28:17; Revelation 5:8-10). He never lost a speck of His divine nature in His incarnation. 

D). Angels are not divine. They are ministering spirits in heaven that are subordinate to Jesus Christ (vv. 7, 14). 

E). Jesus Christ eternally reigns with full divine authority in heaven as God (v. 8; cf. John 10:30). He and God the Father are united in every conceivable divine essence. 

F). Jesus Christ was anointed and sanctified by God the Father with the oil of gladness (v.9). This confirms that Jesus deserved the divine authority vested in Him by God the Father after accomplishing His redemption works and upon His ascension to heaven. The triumphant Jesus took on His full divine glory in Heaven.

G). Jesus Christ is the creator God who in His divine essence and unity with God the Father created the heavens and the earth (v. 10; cf. Genesis 1:1-2; John 1:1-3). 

H). Jesus Christ is eternally omnipotent and immutable as God. He cannot change (vv. 11-12; cf. Hebrews 13:8; James 1:17). 

I). God the Father actively seeks to destroy the enemies of Jesus Christ and to enthrone Him as King over the earth. This speaks to His coming messianic reign (vv. 13-14; cf. Rev. 20:4-6). 

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, we can affirm from the revelation and authority of Scripture that Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega, the eternal God; the One who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty (Rev. 1:8). He is Emmanuel, God with us (Matthew 1:23). He is the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). 

He is the Bread of Life (John 6:35) and the Good shepherd (John 10:11-16); He is God, eternally immutable, the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). He is the Living Stone (1 Peter 2:4-8); He is the Lion of Judah, the Root of David (Rev. 5:5), the Lamb of God who was slain for our redemption (John 1:29). He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords (Rev. 19:16). Hallelujah!!! 

Who can compare with Jesus? No matter what circumstances we face in life, let us remember that we are connected to the most powerful force that we can ever contemplate, our Lord Jesus Christ!

Shalom and Merry Christmas!

© Ezekiel Kimosop 2023