Money Matters: Devotions from Time of GraceSample

Getting Money God’s Way: Gambling

Gambling is a huge industry in America. Las Vegas no longer has a monopoly on it; it seems that every state now has a lottery, riverboats, and American Indian casinos. Americans willingly threw away $34 billion in gambling losses in casinos alone last year.

Some Christian leaders denounce all gambling as sin. And yet you will search the Bible in vain for a prohibition on gambling. Although the ancient world was full of games of chance, dice and horse racing, the word “gambling” is not even found in Scripture. So, if God does not call it a sin in and of itself, we won’t either. You aren’t automatically going to hell if you play the slots.

But pay attention to the money you put into it. The iron rule of all gambling is that ultimately there is only one winner--the house. Can you truly afford what you lose? Are you stealing from your savings? Your children? Your God? Does the powerful lure of trying to get something for nothing make your day-to-day job seem sluggish and boring? Are you able to stop?

“Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control” (Proverbs 25:28).