Gambling???????????

[A6A4]

My finance is in this debate at work that his co-workers say that it does not say in the Bible that it is not wrong to gamble. But he and I both know that somewhere in the scripture it tells that we should not be gambling. Where is that located?

 

[Unnamed Servant]

I do not believe that there are any direct verses about "gambling" in the bible, but gambling does hinge on the desire to gain wealth and become rich, which the bible does speak to. One verse is 1 Tim. 6:9-10

Love-In-Christ,

Unnamed Servant

 

[FranklinNoble]

Gambling is poor stewardship of your money, which is given to you by God, and should be used to His glory.

Even if you win, you're only taking money from others who have lost.

I don't have exact scripture references off hand, but anybody can see that the essence of gambling is sinful.

 

[ZiSunka]

Actually, in one place, God uses the rolling of dice to ferret out the perpetrator of sin. Remember the story of Aiken, the man who stole from God in what was it, the book of Joshua? God had them roll dice to find the one who had committed the crime against God, the one who was the reason they lost a battle with many, many casualties. There are a couple other places where lots or dice are used by God. One is in proverbs I think.

Anyway. We are expected to be good stewards of our money, the money God gives us, and gambling is just throwing money away. You can't be a good steward of something you throw away, can you?

Also, gambling shows that you have little faith in God to provide for you and that you think you have to go out and get money by taking it from other people without providing any work or service for them. That's kind of like stealing.

 

[TwinCrier]

The first verse that comes to mind is "Thou shalt not covet." What is gambling other than the desire to obtain someone elses money?
He that hastens to be rich hath an evil eye, and considers not that poverty shall come upon him. Proverbs 28:22

 

[d0c markus]

the apostles were gamblers, They cast lots on which guy to pick.... *sits waiting to be tar&feathered for heresy* (dont count what i jus said as useful, I agree with post 2&3,4&5)

 

[2Timothy2]

OK, here goes. There is no specific verse directly condemning gambling. The above posts are correct, to a point, IMO.

Stewardship: gambling can be an awful waste of money, but, so can buying 100 pairs of shoes, or pouring your money into a hotrod or other type of hobby that could, potentially, be prideful.

Trusting in God's provision: many people look to gambling for a quick score, but, the Bible condemns the attitiude that looks to get rich quickly. And money quickly gained, without work, is quickly lost.

Love of money: this is the root of all kinds of evil (1Tim 610), so what is the mindset of the person considering gambling? This will determine whether it is sinful or not.

Gambling can be a form of entertainment, much like going to see your local professional sports team play. But the question must be asked of yourself, "Is this how I should be using the money God gave to me?", and this is the question we should be asking ourselves about every financial decision we make, not just about gambling. I think gambling is looked down upon because of the abuse. When the abuse is considered, it is all about greed, lack of trust in God's provision, and poor stewardship, etc. But, if there is 'room' in the 'entertainment' portion of your budget, I really don't see how gambling is any different from any other form of entertainment.

I know people will talk about the ruined lives and how gambling adds to this, causing a brother to stumble and all. I am inclined to disagree with this, to a certain extent. But, I am open to listening to cogent arguements in favor of this opinion.

All that said, I don't gamble. For me, right now, it is a waste of what God has given me. I have much better uses for His money. But, neither do I go see the Spurs play, have cable, rush out to get the latest fashions, etc. I actually have more to say on this, but I don't want to get preachy on you.

 

[rural_preacher]

Actually, in one place, God uses the rolling of dice to ferret out the perpetrator of sin. Remember the story of Aiken, the man who stole from God in what was it, the book of Joshua? God had them roll dice to find the one who had committed the crime against God, the one who was the reason they lost a battle with many, many casualties. There are a couple other places where lots or dice are used by God. One is in proverbs I think.

Anyway. We are expected to be good stewards of our money, the money God gives us, and gambling is just throwing money away. You can't be a good steward of something you throw away, can you?

Also, gambling shows that you have little faith in God to provide for you and that you think you have to go out and get money by taking it from other people without providing any work or service for them. That's kind of like stealing.

Proverbs 16:33, "The lot is cast into the lap, But its every decision is from the LORD."

Some use this as an excuse to gamble saying that they have faith in God's sovereignty. But they are quickly forgetting verse 16 when they use such an argument...

"How much better to get wisdom than gold! And to get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver."

 

[d0c markus]

Proverbs 16:33, "The lot is cast into the lap, But its every decision is from the LORD."

Some use this as an excuse to gamble saying that they have faith in God's sovereignty. But they are quickly forgetting verse 16 when they use such an argument...

"How much better to get wisdom than gold! And to get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver."

Ha! Fantastic

 

[Wigglesworth]

Although not entirely on point with gambling, how 'bout this . . .

19 Hard workers have plenty of food; playing around brings poverty. 20 The trustworthy will get a rich reward. But the person who wants to get rich quick will only get into trouble. 21 Showing partiality is never good, yet some will do wrong for something as small as a piece of bread. 22 A greedy person tries to get rich quick, but it only leads to poverty.

Proverbs 28 (NLT).

 

[ZiSunka]

Although not entirely on point with gambling, how 'bout this . . .

Proverbs 28 (NLT).

Seems like the perfect reference on this subject to me.

 

[Unnamed Servant]

the apostles were gamblers, They cast lots on which guy to pick.... *sits waiting to be tar&feathered for heresy* (dont count what i jus said as useful, I agree with post 2&3,4&5)

heresy! He must be excommunicated!

 

[d0c markus]

heresy! He must be excommunicated!

*screams out in agony and fear* NOOOOOO!!!! Not thaaatt!!!

 

[Ave Maria]

I see nothing wrong with gambling as long as it is controlled and you don't let it control you. I'd say if you're going to gamble, set apart a set amount of money to gamble with and don't go over that limit! That way, your losses will be limited.

 

[2Timothy2]

Edited post in its entirety. The quoted post in here was removed for flaming. There fore this comment is not needed.

 

[FranklinNoble]

Well thank you for bashing me d0c markus. That's so nice of you.

Has he said anything untrue? I've made the same observations - your doctrine is very liberal, at best, and not what I would consider Biblically sound. You're condoning and potentially enabling a lot of sinful behavior with your advice.

 

[d0c markus]

Well thank you for bashing me d0c markus. That's so nice of you.

Bash is the wrong word. Rebuke is a more proper term in this case as it's hard truth. Also I was pointing out that your posts are inconsistent with 'conservative mainline christianity'

 

[Ave Maria]

Has he said anything untrue? I've made the same observations - your doctrine is very liberal, at best, and not what I would consider Biblically sound. You're condoning and potentially enabling a lot of sinful behavior with your advice.

My beliefs are not the topic of this thread. If you want to address my beliefs, feel free to PM me or preferably send me a message on one of my instant messengers.

 

[Ave Maria]

Bash is the wrong word. Rebuke is a more proper term in this case as it's hard truth. Also I was pointing out that your posts are inconsistent with 'conservative mainline christianity'

I consider myself to be Conservative-Mainline because I accept the Nicene Creed (which by the way is the requirement to use a Christian icon on CF). Many Liberal Christians do not accept the Nicene Creed.

 

[kyzar]

my fiance and i buy a stratchie probably about once a month or so if we had to figure it out, to us its like spending money on the movies or a book, or going to the arcade, just spending some money to do something 'fun'...
Do you guys think this is wrong? Fors, against?
I don't think its wrong (obviously, thats why I do it) because I don't think spending $4 AU a month is bad stewardship of my money, especially when i think about how much money i waste on the movies etc... However i do disagree with addictive gambling like you can't stop... Same as my opinion on drinking alcohol, im ok with it (dont promote but...) but totally against getting drunk... Its the extremes im not a fan of...