Gambling?

[bdh419]

Hello. I am a member of the church of christ and i'm trying to figure out if gambling is wrong. Can anyone help?

 

[Chie]

Hello. I am a member of the church of christ and i'm trying to figure out if gambling is wrong. Can anyone help?

Welcome to CF bdh419.
I think the motive behind gambling needs to be the concern.
Is it motivated by greed. Or worry, not trusting in God to help with our needs, hoping on luck instead.

 

[tapero]

Hello. I am a member of the church of christ and i'm trying to figure out if gambling is wrong. Can anyone help?

Hi, Christians vary on some of the issues of gambling. Some calling it a sin, others not.

Some will say it's God's money that your gambling with and so hence wrong.

You will recieve various opinions as such.

If the person gambling had struggles with it and is addicted and is losing all their money and families money, it's a problem and they need help. There are sites dedicated to help such a person, and if you know of a person that needs help, I can locate a site. I imagne it might be called gamblers anonymous.

If the person does this on a casual basis for fun, I see no wrong in it at all. Stock market which many are involved in is basically gambling with their money, hoping to make more money. If they are addicted, once again, and so much that they are causing themselves and family to suffer, then it's not right for them. If they make a ton of money, and forget God, then it's a problem for them also.

Bible says do all things in moderation. (of course knowing God's commands on certain things comes into play), so like killing in moderation is not right, even tho the bible says all things in moderation.. You get my point.

However, the bible does not speak to gambling. Except that they gambled for Jesus' garments.

God bless,
tapero

 

[NHB_MMA]

Gambling isn't addressed in the Bible, in any negative way. The Bible tells of Samson wagering with the Phillistines over a riddle, with no condemnation of the account. Common sense tells us that irresponsibility in gambling is a potential danger and that such behavior is sinful, as irresponsibility would be with any of the resources God has blessed one with. However, when it gets to the point of forbidding a church member to buy a charitible raffle ticket or other nonsense, all I can say is I pay no attention to the Taliban wing of Christianity.

 

[Nadiine]

I see no laws in the NT against gambling (not specifically), so I consider this a Christian liberty we have.
It's something we can do, but have to use God's restrictions & principles in doing it so that it doesn't turn into sin.
See James 4:17 about personal sin & inward conviction on things.

To those who call gambling sin using the reason of gambler's addictions, I say this:
FOOD is an addiction to MANY people - many Christians are overweight. It doesn't make the food sinful, just what we do with it.

I've gambled moderately in Vegas & Laughlin on & off - I have no inner conviction against gambling whatsoever. Actually, I'm too CHEAP & nervous to be a hardcore gambler LOL.
I've gotten so nervous gambling lately that I just plain don't even enjoy it so I don't bother going to Vegas anymore.

Imo, the biblical guidelines would be:
* do not love money - i.e. greed
* don't gamble what you can't afford/spare to lose
* give more to God (offerings) than what you gamble
* addiction to gambling is NEVER ok
* if it starts hindering your Christian witness, STOP IT
* if it starts affecting your relationships, STOP IT
* if it stumbles another Christian, STOP IT
* never gamble w/ money that you need for bills/necessities of life
* pay people back that you owe FIRST before gambling with THEIR money
* don't get drunk on free drinks at the tables
* (optional) if we win, we always give God 10% out of the winnings

There might be more but that's all I can think of right now.

If you personally feel a conviction against not gambling, then you shouldn't do it. In liberties, the Holy Spirit doesn't lead us all the same way. One I can think of is tattoo's. I'm heavily convicted about those - I know it would be a sin for me to get one, yet other Christians think they're great & go get one.
Or drinking - some people think it's wrong, others don't.
These are things that are individual & we have to go with our inward feelings on them.
If you can't enjoy something without guilt, then you should keep away from it till that changes.

It could be that God is keeping you from something that He knows will harm you later - how you might change from it or get hooked on it, or attitudes, etc.

--my .025 cents

 

[wildthing]

It's a personal choice. You can do is long as it does not become an addiction.

For me it's something that I don't do. It's like asking me to play cards. I really don't find it interesting enough to spend alot of time doing. So if you gamble fine. I sure won't jugde ya after all I play the stockmarket which now days is about the samething as spending the night at Reno.

 

[plmarquette]

Gambling as a hobby ?
1 lotto ticket a week or on everthing that comes by ... check pools , sports pools , lottery , gambling boat ?

Does you family suffer set backs because of you "hobby" are you unable to pay your bills because of your gambling ...?

When you look at gambling as a compulsion ....
like cigarettes, alcohol, drugs ...
... do you gamble or does gambling have you ?

1 Corinthians 6.9 speaks of sins of obsession .... caught up in them , a trap , a type of pride and selfishness ...
when habit has you , controls you , makes decisions for you ... then you are in sin ..

 

[Piedpiper123]

It may not be a sin but it is certainly not wise IMO. The real winners are the bookies. It is also very addictive.

As for the lotto, I think it is nothing but a tax on weak willed people.

 

[Time4AChange]

I for one do think that gambling is a sin....It shows a lack of faith in God to provide for you. Also that money that you gamble with can be used to further build up the Kingdom of God in some way....many Christians dont even tithe, yet they would be willing to spend their money gambling.

Also Las Vegas is very popular for gambling, and the whole theme of Vegas is SIN. It's a city and a nightlife of sin, and most of the activities that they promote are sin related, gambling being one of them.

Listen to the Holy Spirit, and i know It wouldnt advice you that gambling is okay.

 

[NHB_MMA]

I for one do think that gambling is a sin

And many share that view. All I'm saying is it's not Scriptural. It is not addressed in the Bible, beyond verses that condemn ANY generic form of irresponsibility. It is a teaching of man and one of the points I point out to show the idea of Sola Scriptura is pure nonsense.

It shows a lack of faith in God to provide for you.

Beyond compulsive gambling (3% of those that gamble), there are two main types of gamblers. There are recreational gamblers that enjoy the activity and the possibility of winning, but do not count of it "to provide" and have normal 9 to 5 jobs. There are also professional gamblers who have skill through card counting, poker play, etc. and it can be proven mathmatically that this can indeed provide positive results over the longhaul.

Also that money that you gamble with can be used to further build up the Kingdom of God in some way

Okay, but can't we apply that to anything? If instead of getting into my neighbor's $10 hold-em' game on Saturday night I spend the $10 renting a couple movies at Blockbuster, is one a sin and the other not a sin? Both $10 could be used for entertainment and both certainly could have been given to a church or ministry group. If I'm on a vacation to Vegas, it is sinful for me to spend $100 playing cards but perfectly okay for me to spend $100 pampering myself in a spa?

The problem is where do you draw the line with this? It leads to an argument that most any recreation is a waste of what God has given you. Some argue that a Christian can't own a Mercedes because that money should have been spent on furthering God's kingdom. Okay, but how about a Cadillac? A Lincoln? A new Buick? A new Hyundai? I can't think it's our Christian duty to drive around in old used cars held together with duct tape, so why allow a church to arbitrarily draw a line? The same can be said of gambling, IMHO.

many Christians dont even tithe, yet they would be willing to spend their money gambling.

I think it's obviously wrong to spend nothing furthering the kingdom, yet pursuing recreation, so that gets no argument from me.

Also Las Vegas is very popular for gambling, and the whole theme of Vegas is SIN. It's a city and a nightlife of sin, and most of the activities that they promote are sin related, gambling being one of them.

In all fairness to Vegas, it was branded "Sin City" by the extreme right-wing of Christianity. So, Vegas just shrugged its shoulders and ran with it. It was the extremists who branded any form of gambling whatsoever sinful, or any consumption of alcohol whatsoever sinful, not Vegas. Don't get me wrong, there are sinful activities such as adult-themed shows and stuff promoted there, but I'm of course referring to the main industry of gambling.

 

[Time4AChange]

And many share that view. All I'm saying is it's not Scriptural. It is not addressed in the Bible, beyond verses that condemn ANY generic form of irresponsibility. It is a teaching of man and one of the points I point out to show the idea of Sola Scriptura is pure nonsense.



Beyond compulsive gambling (3% of those that gamble), there are two main types of gamblers. There are recreational gamblers that enjoy the activity and the possibility of winning, but do not count of it "to provide" and have normal 9 to 5 jobs. There are also professional gamblers who have skill through card counting, poker play, etc. and it can be proven mathmatically that this can indeed provide positive results over the longhaul.



Okay, but can't we apply that to anything? If instead of getting into my neighbor's $10 hold-em' game on Saturday night I spend the $10 renting a couple movies at Blockbuster, is one a sin and the other not a sin? Both $10 could be used for entertainment and both certainly could have been given to a church or ministry group. If I'm on a vacation to Vegas, it is sinful for me to spend $100 playing cards but perfectly okay for me to spend $100 pampering myself in a spa?

The problem is where do you draw the line with this? It leads to an argument that most any recreation is a waste of what God has given you. Some argue that a Christian can't own a Mercedes because that money should have been spent on furthering God's kingdom. Okay, but how about a Cadillac? A Lincoln? A new Buick? A new Hyundai? I can't think it's our Christian duty to drive around in old used cars held together with duct tape, so why allow a church to arbitrarily draw a line? The same can be said of gambling, IMHO.



I think it's obviously wrong to spend nothing furthering the kingdom, yet pursuing recreation, so that gets no argument from me.



In all fairness to Vegas, it was branded "Sin City" by the extreme right-wing of Christianity. So, Vegas just shrugged its shoulders and ran with it. It was the extremists who branded any form of gambling whatsoever sinful, or any consumption of alcohol whatsoever sinful, not Vegas. Don't get me wrong, there are sinful activities such as adult-themed shows and stuff promoted there, but I'm of course referring to the main industry of gambling.

Good points my friend, and my post was just my personal opinion on gambling, it's not in anyway supposed to be what God thinks, so i know what i said could be debated....However, Scriptures do tell us over and over to use wisdom....Gambling is very detrimental to alot of ppl, and it doesn't bring any sort of glory to God.....you can't use the act of gambling in anyway to bring any kind of praise to God, or as a testimony to show how great God is....BUT it can be and often times is used as a destructive tool by the devil. Why fund or support something that destroys alot of ppl's lives? When you gamble, you invest in that cause....you support that casino with your money, and therefore you build up that empire, and give it the means to continue to grow.

Gambling can destroy lives, and cause people alot of pain and suffering, it can get them in legal trouble, it can become a harmful addiction and the list goes on and on. Not to mention, IMHO, it brings no glory to God in any way. I dont think as Christians we should be involved in or support something like that...that's just my opinion though.

If i knew my Bible better (im now starting to study it fully) i might be able to find a Scripture that relates in some way to gambling. As you guys said it's not condemned in the Bible (and it probably isn't, i dont know the Bible that well yet...ill take your word for it tho ) But i do think that the Bible somewhere probably addressed this issue indirectly without using the word "gambling". The Bible is yet to fail me regarding ANYTHING in this world (it's an amazing book ), so i do believe that somewhere it does talk about gambling. We just need to be open to the underlying meanings of Scriptures.

Anyway, im talking way to much lol....i gotta get to church, you guys are going to make me late

Nice talking to you NHB_MMA, be blessed

 

[NHB_MMA]

I will freely acknowledge that gambling can give a real rush to some and obviously some find it addicting. I don't believe it to be sinful in and of itself, but it is absolutely an activity that should be approached with caution and perhaps not at all, if a person knows he has trouble keeping self-disciplined about things.

Again, compulsive behavior that damages one financially, personally, etc. is incompatible with what God wants for any of us. This goes for gambling or for my friend that spends 60+ hours per week playing video games, IMO. I would urge anyone that has trouble controlling his gambling to break the habit and refrain from the activity altogether.

 

[jnwilcox]

Gambling needs to be operationally defined.

For instance, Jesus gambled his life for us; this was out of love.

But gambling out of greed is wrong and is against our tradition.