Gambling for Fun
Barbara Henderson
Mortimer and his wife Carlotta were at a good place in their lives. They
owned a very successful manufacturing business filled with contented employees
who considered themselves blessed to have such generous management. Well, they
didn’t exactly own the business. They still ran the
business, but they had actually sold or partially ‘gave’ the business to the
employees. The employees bought them out
a price much less than the company was worth. It was written into the selling
contract that they could control the business until they were 95 or dead. Not that they actually planed to run the
business that long, but it seemed like a good idea to write it into the
contract just in case they wanted to.
Mortimer and Carlotta actually had plans that did not include running a
business. They wanted to travel and see
the world. They were never blessed with children, so they were not worrying
about leaving an inheritance for their children. The people who had helped them
build up the business now owned the majority of stock in the business.. They
still had a very fine house on some acreage, but they planned to leave that to
the church.
Mortimer and Carlotta had been members
of the same church ever since they got married more than 40 years ago. Mortimer
was a deacon, and Carlotta was on every committee in the entire church. They
loved the church, gave generously to charities, and were good Christian
examples on almost everything. Although they enjoyed their life they were
sincerely looking forward to eternity in heaven. They took their relationship
with Jesus Christ seriously. That meant once they realized a sin was in their
life they repented and turned from it.
They did have one small vice they
considered harmless. They liked to gamble. They were both very disciplined
people, so gambling for them meant taking a set amount of money, spending that
much money, going to dinner, and going home in time to get a good night’s rest
because they always went to church on Sunday. (There gambling night was
Saturday) Mortimer and Carlotta considered the money they spent gambling as
miscellaneous funds. It was a small amount of money considering their income
and their net-worth. They had been
gambling for about 10 years, and they had never increased the amount of money
they spent. The money spent on gambling had no effect on any part of their
lives. They could’ve spent more had they gone to an expensive theater
production and restaurant. For all those years they had never thought about
gambling as being a sin. They enjoyed it.
They counted it as luck on the nights they won. On the nights they lost ‘luck’ was not with
them, but they had a good time anyway.
Then one day a missionary came to
their church. He spoke of exploitation of the poor in the country where he
worked. Goods and services were not available to the poor without paying extra
money and higher rates of interest. Even
worse the missionary commented, the church was also exploiting the poor by
promising them wealth if they only give more to the church. This put the church
and the government run businesses in the dreadful place of exploiting the poor
and helpless instead of helping them.
Mortimer and Carlotta were both appalled at the things the missionary told
them.
The next week a great deal of their
time was occupied thinking of exploitation of the poor. It almost seemed like
their eyes were opened to see the poor where they had never seen them before.
Both Mortimer and Carlotta had taken it very seriously to care for their
employees during their time building up their company and running it. They
firmly believed that business could balance making a profit with providing
benefits and a good salary to employees. That was why they eventually sold the
company to the employees. In some ways they saw their employees as the family
they never had. They knew that some people would mismanage funds no matter how
much money they earned. However, their employees were always paid wages that
would allow them to have a level of financial stability not available to those
who worked for businesses that cared only for profit.
After the missionary left Mortimer and
Carlotta spent the week patting themselves on their backs for their good
behavior toward their own employees. They also patted themselves on their backs
for their generosity to the church. They were also happy to note that while
their church always had a fund raising campaign they did not place the burden
of funding the church projects on the poor of the church. Their preacher lived
on a modest budget. He had even refused raises and other benefits because he
thought it would not look right for a pastor to live above the majority of his
church members. From their point of view they were in the clear when it came to
exploiting the poor.
Their gambling night arrived. They did start at the usual time, but they
did not stop at the usual time. This
Saturday was no different except for one thing. They both kept winning far more
than ever before. First the more they won the happier they were. Then they
began to notice how many poor people were actually in the casino. Everywhere
they looked there were people obviously far too poor to be spending money
gambling. And the house was packed.
At first Mortimer was appalled that so
many people who obviously could not afford it were wasting money on gambling.
‘Carlotta,’ he said. ‘I never noticed
how many poor people were here.’
Carlotta replied, ‘neither did I.’
‘Of course we really can’t help what
they do with their money.’ Said Mortimer.
‘No we can’t,’ Carlotta replied. ‘The
real issue is that we are part of exploiting the poor.’
‘What are you talking about.’ Mortimer
said.
‘Well, it looks like 80% of the people
here gambling are poor to very poor. That means 80% of our winnings come from
the poor. We are definitely taking advantage of the poor.’
‘Well I’ll be.’ Mortimer said. ‘Who’d
a thunk it?’
Mortimer and Carlotta realized that
gambling was participating in exploitation of the poor. What they did about it was up to their
conscience. I hope they remember that the Bible says Christians are to come out
from among them and be separate.
The thing is that disciplined gambling
may not be seen as a vice because the spender is not spending more than they
can afford. They are not in charge of who is allowed to gamble. If the poor want to gamble, then they have
the right to do so. If their families
suffer, then it just what happens when family bread winners make wrong
choices. It is equally true however,
that anyone who gambles is aiding and abetting in exploitation of the poor. In
gambling the American dream of financial security through hard work and
planning is replaced by ‘I want to win the lottery’. They pray they will be ‘lucky’ the next time
they pull a slot or roll the dice.
In Gambling the gambler is trying to
take what others lose. Is it legal? Yes it is?
Is it moral? No, it is not. Does God want His children to spend the money
He has given them chasing ‘luck’ instead of honoring Him? Of course not.
By the way, who is ‘luck’?
‘Luck’ is a figment of your
imagination just like mother earth. If
either luck or mother earth existed they would both be evil. They only smile on people accidentally. Both luck and mother earth are cruel
masters. Remember that when David faced
the giant he did not ask luck to help him. He put his trust in the Almighty God
of creation.
There is also the point that the
apostle Paul made when he pointed out that he was free to do all things that
are legal. However, he restrained himself from doing many things that are legal
because he realized that some things appear as sin to younger brothers and sisters
in Christ. Paul did not want to be a stumbling block to any fellow believer. If a Christian is able to mentally distance
themselves from the fact that gambling is a vice by rationalizing the evil that
goes with it, they still cannot change the fact that many young Christians or
people under conviction to become Christians do consider gambling a sin. There is no way gambling can help you. It can only hurt you and many others.
It is positively true that those who
gamble their salaries away will gamble whether you gamble or not. They will lose their money. They will get another paycheck and gamble
that away too. But you do not have to
participate in enabling them to keep their lives in the gutter.
PS.
I want you all to know that I have never been in a Casino unless you
count the airport at Las Vegas. There
was also a close call at a K-mart also in Las Vegas. They had slot machines everywhere – including
in the ladies bathroom. I was taught not
to gamble, but my real conviction came when Texas got the lottery and those
scratch cards at convenience stores were everywhere. The Convenience stores are really what opened
my eyes. I used to pick up ice for our
auto repair shop every morning at a convenience store. After the scratch tickets became available I
saw the poorest of the poor buying scratch tickets early every single
morning. They were filthy, in poor
health, and obviously mentally lacking in some way. They would get to the counter, fill their
coffee cup, buy tickets, and go back to sit down. Then they scratched off their tickets, and
went back to buy more. I don’t know if
the laws have changed, but the clerks should be able to refuse to sell more
tickets after a certain amount. At a
different convenience store one evening I was paying for gas. There was a woman with a car that was broken
down and in need of major repair sitting in the parking lot with her hood
up. She was trying to borrow money to
‘get her car fixed’. Some people gave
her money. She immediately went in and
bought scratch tickets because she needed more money to actually get the car
fixed. The clerk begged her to
stop. She threatened to call the police
if the clerk refused to sell her tickets.
It was horrible to watch. We saw
things like that all the time. I mean – where else can you get gas except at a
convenience store?
As our economy shrinks and times get
harder for everyone, I look to see the gambling industry grow – because people
will become desperate as they see their chances of becoming ‘rich’ grow slimmer
and slimmer. Don’t encourage them by
joining them. They need help. They-need to know Jesus Christ. We all need to rely on the directions and
promise in Psalm 37:3-5 which says:
3Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in
the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.
4 Delight thyself also in the Lord: and
he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
5 Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust
also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
Gambling is trusting to ‘luck’ instead
of trusting in the sure promises of Jesus Christ.
