Is Gambling A Sin?

Someone wrote to me and asked, “Do you think gambling is lawlessness? Playing poker at a casino, etc.”

Well, before we determine whether gambling is or is not lawlessness or a sin, we must first define our terms. What is lawlessness? What is sin? What is gambling? Only after our terms are defined will we know if gambling is lawlessness or a sin.

What is lawlessness?:

As I discuss in my article, “I Never Knew You,” the word “lawlessness” is the Greek word [458] anomia (an-om-ee’-ah), which is a compounded word of the alpha [1] a (ah), which means “no,” “not,” or “without,” and [3551] nomos (nom’-os), which means the commandments, the Mosaic Law, and the Old Testament scriptures in general. And so anomia means a person of iniquity, a person who possesses no fixed moral standard. It is the wickedness of living contrary to the knowledge of the Law. And according to Matthew 13:41, these are the unrighteous and evil tares who will get gathered and thrown into the fire.

What is sin?:

The Hebrew word for “sin” is [2403] chatta’ah (khat-taw-aw’), which is an offense or wrongdoing, something that demands a penalty. The Greek word for “sin” is [266] hamartia (ham-ar-tee’-ah), which is a compounded word of the alpha [1] a (ah), which means “no,” “not,” or “without,” and [3313] meros (mer’-os), which means a part, portion, or share. And so as a verb, this word literally means “to miss the mark”; consequently, so as to not share in the prize or get a section, allotment, or portion. And so both the Hebrew and Greek’s basic nuance of this word means missing the road or missing the mark. It is for this reason that sin is described in the Bible as transgression of the Law of GOD (1John 3:4) and rebellion against GOD (Deuteronomy 9:7; Joshua 1:18). And this is why sin can be described as departing from the “the way” in that the person misses the mark and travels down the wrong road. It is for this reason Proverbs 3:5-7 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and turn away from evil.” And Proverbs 4:27 says, “Do not turn to the right nor to the left; turn your foot from evil.” And it is for this reason Jesus said in Matthew 7:13-14, “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Therefore, sin is the overall the failure to conform to GOD’s Law in thought, feeling, attitude, word, action, orientation, or nature.

And so we need to investigate what gambling entails so we will be able to discern if it is living contrary to the knowledge of the Law, missing the mark, and going down the wrong road.

What is gambling?:

According to Dictionary.com, “gambling” is “the act or practice of risking the loss of something important by taking a chance or acting recklessly.” And “gamble” is “staking or risking money, or anything of value, on the outcome of something involving chance.”

Is gambling lawlessness and/or sin?:

If gambling is viewed as entertainment and is kept in moderation, is it really any different from other activities that waste our money? Isn’t “responsible gambling” the same as spending a bit too much money on video games, seeing a movie at the theater, eating unnecessarily expensive meals, or purchasing unnecessary items that tend to clutter our homes? Well, gambling can definitely be viewed as another avenue of wasting money; however, it is different than most unnecessary purchases and entertainment choices for a few reasons.

As I described in an article I published a long time ago, casinos are rigged; they use a variety of marketing schemes to entice gamblers to risk as much money as possible. They often offer inexpensive or even free alcohol, which encourages drunkenness, and thereby a decreased ability to make wise decisions. Everything in a casino is perfectly rigged for receiving money in large sums and giving almost nothing in return, except for fleeting and empty pleasures. An examination of any random state’s department of revenue for casinos is quite revealing – billions of dollars comes in and not much money goes out. Gambling expenditures is around $500+ billion per year – that’s more money than Americans spend per year on films, books, amusements, and music entertainment combined!

Lotteries attempt to portray themselves as a way to fund education and/or social programs. However, studies show that lottery participants are usually those who can least afford to be spending money on lottery tickets. The allure of “getting rich quick” is often too great a temptation to resist for those who are desperate. Unfortunately, the chances of winning are infinitesimal and almost impossible. The end result is that people ultimately lose their money that they could have otherwise saved or invested into another purpose.

However, many people claim that they gamble or play the lottery so that they can give the money to the church or to some other good cause. So, can gambling proceeds please GOD? While this may be a good motive, the reality is that few people actually use gambling winnings for righteous purposes. Studies reveal that the vast majority of lottery winners are in an even worse financial situation a few years after winning a jackpot than they had been before they won all the money. But why is that? Let’s face it – money doesn’t change a person’s character; rather, money ultimately amplifies a person’s character. If a person isn’t a good steward with a little amount, the person won’t be a good steward with a large amount.

In Luke 16:10-13 (NLT), it is written, “If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities. And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven? And if you are not faithful with other people’s things, why should you be trusted with things of your own? No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.”

We are all called to be good stewards with all that has been given to us. According to Dictionary.com, a steward is “a person who manages another’s property or financial affairs; one who administers anything as the agent of another or others.”

As Christians, we are merely managing what GOD has allowed to be in our care. A prominent principle that permeates the Bible is stewardship. The Bible repeatedly and consistently paints the picture that GOD is the ultimate owner of everything and we are merely stewards for the time being (Job 1:21; Psalm 24:1; 49:17; 89:11; Ecclesiastes 5:15; Luke 12:42; 1Corinthians 4:1-2; 1Timothy 6:7). We are all called to be stewards of the Gospel that Jesus has entrusted to us through the command of the great commission (Matthew 28:16-20). But in addition to that, we are all to be good stewards of everything the Lord has given to us or provided for us. We are all called to live a disciplined life (Romans 8:9; 1Corinthians 9:27; Galatians 5:22-23; 2Timothy 1:7; Titus 1:7-8; Hebrews 12:11). One of the fruits of the Spirit is that we will live with self-control. And while living a disciplined life, we are to live a life of love toward others.

What is right?:

If we are to find out if gambling is wrong, we need to know what is right; we will know what is wrong if we know what is right. Out of all the supposed 613 commandments, Jesus gave us the greatest commandment (and a second that is like it):

It is written in Matthew 22:37-40: “And He said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

So, are we loving GOD when we gamble?:

Christians are not to allow their minds or bodies to be mastered by anything other than the Holy Spirit (1Corinthians 6:12) – anything else leads to idolatry. It is for this reason it is written in Romans 12:1-2, “present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” And if you don’t believe you are mastered by anything, I challenge you to ponder on what thoughts determine your actions. In John 8:34, Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin.” That which you cannot walk away from has ownership over you. If you are unable to release your hatred toward others, you are a slave to sin. Even if you are unable to walk away from something seemingly insignificant such as a cigarette, you are a slave to the desire. Truly, people are slaves to anger, pride, jealousy, pornography, greed, promiscuity, alcohol, drugs, and many other things. Therefore, motive most certainly matters. If you find yourself in a casino, why are you there?

If we are to love GOD, then we should have faith that GOD will provide what we need, not necessarily what we want.

Hebrews 11:6 says, “without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” Further, Matthew 6:24-34 teaches us that our trust should be in GOD as our Provider and we should not worry about our provision because GOD will provide.

GOD rewards those who seek Him. We are to be seeking the Lord, not money. Money is not the solution to all of our problems; our Savior is the Source and the solution. Many people might raise an objection to this and say, “People gotta eat and you need money to eat!” But don’t forget what is written: we do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord (Deuteronomy 8:3; Matthew 4:4). GOD’s Word alone is the sustenance for the soul. Do you trust GOD? After all, faith entails trust and we should trust in the Lord with all our hearts (Proverbs 3:5-7). If we trust in the Lord, we can be content in all circumstances, whether we have a little or a lot (Philippians 4:11-13). But gambling feeds covetousness, which is the opposite of GOD’s call to be content.

The Voice translation paraphrases 2Thessalonians 3:10-12 this way: “This is exactly why, while with you, we commanded you: ‘Anyone not willing to work shouldn’t get to eat!’ You see, we are hearing that some folks in the community are out of step with our teaching; they are idle, not working, but really busy doing nothing—and yet still expect to be fed! If this is you or someone else in the community, we insist and urge you in the Lord Jesus the Anointed that you go to work quietly, earn your keep, put food on your own table, and supply your own necessities.”

In short, we’ve got work to do. There are no shortcuts to success in life. Gambling is risking losing your money on a chance to receive everyone else’s money without working for the money. In essence, the gambler wants something for nothing. But there’s one major problem with this scenario: luck does not exist. Humans — in alignment with an evil agenda — have unfairly rigged the casinos and it is in favor of the house, not the gambler. Lotteries are designed to collect money. Chance without GOD is the personification of anarchy and nihilism. Everything not controlled by humankind is controlled by GOD. But GOD has allowed humans to have control in many areas of life due to our gift of free will. Sadly, gambling is one area of life where humans have control; those in control have set up the odds in their favor and they are only taking advantage of those who gamble.

Are we loving others when we gamble?:

You can choose to believe this or not, but we don’t need a fortune to be able to love people.

Acts 3:1-10 is a fitting and powerful example of this! It is written, “Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the ninth hour, the hour of prayer. And a man who had been lame from his mother’s womb was being carried along, whom they used to set down every day at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, in order to beg alms of those who were entering the temple. When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he began asking to receive alms. But Peter, along with John, fixed his gaze on him and said, ‘Look at us!’ And he began to give them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said, ‘I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene—walk!’ And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up; and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened. With a leap he stood upright and began to walk; and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God; and they were taking note of him as being the one who used to sit at the Beautiful Gate of the temple to beg alms, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.”

Peter didn’t have money, but he gave the man what he had – the gift of Christ Jesus! We may not have a lot of money, but we are all capable of giving what we do have – the Good News (Gospel)! All miracles come from GOD! Are miracles possible? Absolutely! Yes! If GOD exists, miracles are possible. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). But winning money from the lottery or casinos is not a miracle. It’s odds. Amazing? Yes. Exciting? Yes. Miracle? No. It’s a numbers game and the odds are set up for you to lose.

As previously mentioned, expenditures on gambling are around $500+ billion every year. What could that amount of money do to help the poor, widows, orphans, or those who are sick? Imagine the good, wholesome projects that could be supported by such an enormous amount of money for an annual budget. How many people could be fed? How many shelters could be built? How many water wells could be provided? How many missions could be funded to preach the Gospel? How many churches could be planted? How many Bibles could be printed and given out? Instead of such worthwhile projects, however, these billions of dollars are dumped into a system that leads to addiction and abuse. While casinos collect billions of dollars, preying on people for greedy profit, I can’t even convince people to sow $20 into the ministry so I can continue to share the good news of the Gospel! Therefore, it would be difficult, indeed, to conclude that gambling is good stewardship of the money with which GOD has entrusted a person. In reality, to pour one’s money into a system that mathematically and statistically has been proven, time and time again, to benefit the “house,” and take from the gambler, certainly would fall into the category of unfaithful stewardship.

While the Bible doesn’t specifically condemn gambling, it does warn us to stay away from the love of money (Matthew 6:24; 1Timothy 6:10; Hebrews 13:5) and to avoid “get rich quick” schemes (Proverbs 13:11; 23:5; Ecclesiastes 5:10). Furthermore, we are encouraged to use our financial resources to minister to people in need and to advance the Kingdom of GOD, not store up treasure for ourselves here on this earth (Matthew 6:19-21; Luke 12:15-21).

Ponder on the widow who gave her last coins in faith to GOD as her Provider (Mark 12:41-44), and the early Christians who donated their money and goods to the church (Acts 4:32-37). As it turns out, I wrote an article on this: “Everything.” Since gambling glorifies the love of money, tempts us with dreams of getting rich quickly, sets up odds that heavily favor the house and not the gambler, and tempts us to direct our money toward frivolous earthly hopes instead of causes that help people in need and whatever advances the Gospel, gambling is clearly an activity Christians should avoid. Think about this: gambling is a celebration of receiving all that others have lost. But life isn’t about what we can receive. Jesus told us that it is better to give than receive (Acts 20:35). But who are we giving to if we are using our money for gambling?

Proverbs 28:20 says, “A faithful man will abound with blessings, but he who makes haste to be rich will not go unpunished.”

But… but… but what about the casting of lots, which is described several times in the Bible? Isn’t that a form of gambling? Well, the Bible does not describe the specific method of casting lots, but it seems to have been similar to drawing straws or throwing dice. Interestingly, GOD sometimes used this ancient practice as a means of showing His will. Aaron was instructed to choose between the sacrificial goat and the scapegoat by casting lots (Leviticus 16). Joshua cast lots to divide land among seven tribes (Joshua 18). The Israelites returning from Babylon cast lots to determine who got to live within the walls of rebuilt Jerusalem (Nehemiah 11). Even the apostles of Christ cast lots to determine who would replace Judas as the twelfth apostle (Acts 1). How can this sort of activity identify GOD’s will if it is based on chance outcomes? That’s a fair question. However, the Bible says the outcomes were not left to chance: Proverbs 16:33 says, “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.”

First, casting lots is not staking or risking money or anything of great value on the uncertain outcome. And the desired outcome is not a celebration of gaining what everyone has lost.  Therefore, casting lots was not the same thing as gambling. Rather, it was an acceptable way to discern GOD’s will in the era before the Holy Spirit was given to believers. Casting lots never occurred again after the Holy Spirit was given to believers. And this is why casting lots should not be regarded as an acceptable means of discovering GOD’s will in this present day – we have the whole Bible plus the Holy Spirit to guide us.

Summary:

Casinos, lotteries, and gambling websites all aim to take your money – that is the goal and they are obviously achieving that goal. After all, they are businesses whose aim is to make money, and thus they scheme to get you to risk as much as possible so that you may lose as much as possible and they can gain as much as possible. If that weren’t the ultimate end goal, they wouldn’t rake in billions of dollars like they do. I urge you to resist the temptation to chase “get rich quick” schemes. At the very least, gambling will lead to loss; however, gambling possesses the potential to ruin lives. GOD gives people time, talent, and treasure with an expectation of accountability (“Burying The Talent”). So, what are you doing with all that GOD has given you?

Conclusion:

Gambling is first and foremost a moral issue. There was a time in American society when the majority of people revered GOD’s absolute moral standard and considered such things as promiscuity, abortion, homosexuality, drunkenness, cursing, pornography, and gambling to be wrong. Obviously, times, circumstances, and culture have changed, but they have not changed for the better. GOD and His Word is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). A genuine Christian is the one who eliminates from daily life the vice and immorality that is characteristic of a corrupt and contaminated culture that continually desires to abandon GOD’s will in favor of the standards of a sick and sinful society. Instead of joining a sinful society, we need to study GOD’s Word in order to learn how GOD desires us to live. We should not be followers of the faithless; instead, we need to be leaders of love.

Rather than asking if gambling is wrong, we need to seek the Lord and know what is right. Just as it is written in Micah 6:8, GOD has already told us what is right. We need to keep our focus on what is right. We are to love GOD and to love others. We need to earn our money and then be good stewards of what we do have by using it wisely to love GOD and to love others. If we are not good stewards with what GOD has given us, we’re not loving GOD as we should. If we’re throwing away money to businesses whose aim is to take advantage of people, then we’re not using that money to love others. The bottom line is that lotteries, casinos, and other ways of gambling are merely clever ways of stealing from the general population.

Gambling is a spiritual and financial timebomb in a pretty package, and no demographic group is immune to the social pathologies associated with it. Gambling associates itself with a number of problems, including alcohol and drug abuse, prostitution, sex trafficking, violent crime, embezzlement and bankruptcy, theft, spouse and child abuse, and even pornography and obscenity. This is why gambling is not a “victimless crime.” What appears to be harmless entertainment with the investment of one’s own money becomes a destructive and costly influence on the person and the community as a whole (Proverbs 14:12-13). The gambling industry is by nature parasitical and predatory.

Mark Twain once shrewdly observed that “the best throw at dice is to throw them away.” But don’t take Mark Twain’s word as the final authority on the matter. In fact, it doesn’t even matter what I say about this matter. What matters is GOD’s Word. But clearly, GOD’s Word tells us that gambling is wrong because it is not in alignment with GOD’s absolute moral standard of what is right. I believe GOD’s Word makes it evident that gambling is living contrary to the knowledge of the Law, missing the mark, and going down the wrong road. I challenge you to be a good steward with what GOD has given you and to use it to love GOD and to love others.

Are you gambling more than you intend to risk? A person choosing to live a life out of alignment with GOD’s absolute moral standard is a person gambling with his/her eternity. I challenge you to consider all that you gamble with every choice you make. I also challenge you to read another other article I published, “Subtle,” and examine the subtlety of sin. I bet you’re gambling more than you intend to risk.

Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

In John 14:15, Jesus says, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” So, what are His commandments? What is Christ telling us to do? As it turns out, I wrote an article on that: “My Commandments”