Is gambling a sin? I reaize many sins are caused as a result of it, but is gambling in itself a sin? Thank You
Posted on March 13, 2008
Filed Under Gambling |
Hello, Is Gambling a sin? I realize many sins are caused by, or are committed as a result of gambling, but is the act of gambling in, and of itself one of the over 300 Venial Sins GOD gave us in addition to the Ten Commandments that Moses taught to the Israelites? Even if you don’t know if it’s a Venial Sin. Do you believe the act of Gambling in and of itself is a sin - no matter how small the wager? I’m not holding a survey or anything like that. I just thought it was an interesting Religous, and Philosophical quagmire of a question. Thank You
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No.
Gambling is not a sin.
How do I know?
It is authorized by the Church.
What am I talking about?
Does your church, or ANY church sponsor a BINGO?
Point proven.
Gambling is not a sin… Addiction to gambling is a sin.
um…it is concidedered a sin BUT it isn’t sometimes.
gambling is all right once in a while.not every week or so.
I have lost a lot of money gambling. It’s an awful addiction. I think compulsive gambling is a sickness rather than a sin.
yes gambling is a sin because god said not to sin and for every sin you do there is going to be a strike beside your name so gambling is a sin so god be with you.
no, gambling is not a sin. it is good for you
Gambling is a sin. placing bets and receving money and material things is against the word of God.
I think mainstream Christians view it as a sin, but I don’t really know why. What about the lottery, the proceeds from which have been used to benefit society in areas such as education? I don’t see anything wrong with gambling, but then again I didn’t write the Commandments and I don’t define sin - I just engage in it on occasion.
I don’t think gambling, in and of itself, is a sin. I am a Christian, and I occasionally play $10 hold’em and I go to the track almost every summer. I think it becomes a sin once you loose control of it, or once it takes the place of God.
Christians believe everything belongs to God. We will be held accountable for the way we use the money God has allowed for us.
I won’t answer whether it is a sin or not. Your spirit will answer that for you.
Yep gambling is included in the list of don’ts adhered 2 by true Christians.
Gambling makes money 4 the establishment in taxes.
What does the Bible say about gambling? Does it ever say ‘thou shalt not gamble’”? Well let me share with you what the Bible does say about the subject.
First, understand that the Bible is not a book of minute rules and regulations but a book of principles. There are several reasons why God saw fit to do it this way. First, if God had written specific rules for every situation, we could not carry the Bible with us because it would be so large. Instead God included principles that can be applied to many different situations. Second, the rules would not apply to every age. If the Bible said “thou shalt not go to an X rated movie, people just a few years ago wouldn’t know what that meant. Instead God gave us principles of morality that guides us in our behavior. Third, there are loopholes in laws, but not in a principle. No there is no Scripture that says “thou shalt not gamble”.
There is also no Scripture that says “thou shalt not drive through a school zone at 100 mph. but we don’t do that. Why? Because we understand the principles of safety and concern that prohibit that kind of activity. There are also principles in the Word of God which prohibit gambling. In gambling, for every winner there must be a looser. There is nothing new created, there is no new wealth. It simply changes hands unjustly. George Washington said, “Gambling is the child of avarice, the brother of iniquity, and the father of mischief”. What principles are violated by gambling?
I. Gambling stems from the sin of covetousness and violates the principle of honesty. Exodus 20:15, 17. “You shall not steal”. “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” I have no right to that which belongs to another unless it is given to me or unless I give something in return. Gambling is attempting to get without giving anything in return. Another name for that is thievery. It is robbery by mutual consent. Some would say that it’s all right because it is by mutual consent. But adultery is by mutual consent but that doesn’t make it right. Someone has said, “He who gambles and wins is a thief. He who gambles and looses is a fool”. But not only does gambling make one a thief, it also spawns thievery. According to the F.B.I. the per capita crime rate in states with legalized gambling is twice as high as states without it. In Nevada, famous for Las Vegas and gambling, the suicide rate is three times the national average.
II. Gambling violates the principle of love. Romans 14:14-15. ” As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean. If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died.” Love says that I can do nothing which would cause another to stumble. In gambling, for one to have pleasure and profit, another must have pain and loss. When you gamble you victimize your neighbor. And what does Scripture say about our relationship to our neighbor? “Love your neighbor as you love your self”. You would not intentionally bring pain and loss upon your self.
III. Gambling violates the principle of self control. Galatians 5:22-23 teaches that one of the characteristics of a Godly life is self control. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” People who gamble risk loosing control. Research shows that one out of ten gamblers does so compulsively and that there are ten million gambling addicts in the U.S. They have the same symptoms as an alcoholic or a drug addict. There is an organization called Gamblers Anonymous to help break the addiction. In the flesh these people are powerless over it. Unfortunately it is not the gamblers who suffer the most. It is their families who suffer as the paycheck disappears across a table. Those who are least able to afford it are the ones who are most tempted to gamble because they see it as a highway to prosperity and riches.
IV. Gambling violates the principle of Stewardship. There are two areas of stewardship I will speak to.
A. Personal Stewardship. First of all understand that all of “our” money belongs to God and we are only able to obtain it by God’s Grace. Deut. 8:18 says “It is the Lord your God that Gives you power to get wealth”. The Scripture is also very clear that our money is to be earned by honest work not by gambling. II Thess. 3:10 says “If a man won’t work, neither shall he eat”. Eph. 4:28 says “Let him who stole, steal no more, instead let him labor with his hands…”. There are some who would argue, “Well I work and I make money and I even give to the Lord, so I can do what I want with the rest”. Not so. The word “steward” in Scripture means “house manager”. It refers to someone who managed all the affairs of a house. As stewards, our responsibility does not stop with the 10% that we give, but we are also responsible for how we handle the 90% we keep.
B. Public Stewardship. To say that we can raise money to support our state with gambling instead of taxes is one of the most regressive and cruel economic hoaxes possible. Gambling is economic fraud. It produces nothing. It is simply a social leach. Revenues that the gambler receives were generated by legitimate business and must be returned to legitimate business in order to produce more wealth, more jobs, etc. Gambling produces no new wealth, but simply transfers it from the hands of many to the hands of a few. The bottom line is that gambling costs. Education doesn’t profit. Private enterprise doesn’t profit unless they own a casino. And our state’s wealth is emptied into the pockets of the gambling industry and organized crime. I heard the story of a donkey who had a horse fly on it’s back. The horse fly said to the donkey, “I have a great deal for you. You would be a fool to turn it down. If you let me suck the blood out of you, for every quart I get, I’ll give you a pint in revenue” You say, “That’s pretty stupid, only a donkey would fall for that”. Well if you believe that gambling profits education or government by removing millions of dollars from it’s coffers and giving a minuscule portion in return, you had better take a look at the mule in the mirror.
Gambling is not only stupid, it violates the principles of the Word of God and should never be practice by anyone and especially anyone who names the name of Jesus Christ and professes to believe the Bible.
_________________________Rev. B.J. Chapman___________
yes it is ,way? because causes you to lose every thing you have some time times it is not financial.
I don’t think gambling in itself is a sin, though, of course, it can be dangerous and addictive. My guideline for gambling is this: bet no more than you are willing to lose, or bet no more than you can afford to lose. I’d also recommend you do it only once in a while, as a recreation, and not to make money.
Keep a lighthearted attitude over whether you win or lose. Never play with those who would kill you or beat you up if you win. Never cheat, and never play with cheaters more than once (unless you don’t mind giving your disposible money away to them!).
“Let him that stole, steal no more; but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth” (Ephesians 4:28).
“For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows” (I Timothy 6:10).
I think the most thing that makes gambling wrong is that you are taking money that you worked hard for and you are taking a risk with it by gambling. If you win money from gambling, it’s not really right because you didn’t work hard for it. Remember, God’s curse to man was to work and provide for his family. If you gamble and earn money that way, you’re not really working.
Like most actions done, I think that the intention behind the act determines its sinfulness. If gambling is done for fun or to bring people closer together through communal bonding then it is not sinful. If it is done as a means to get money that is then worshiped then it can be a sin. If it interferes with ones relationship with God or others then it really is a sin.
No, but your not supposed to get addicted to gambling.In the bible shows what people could call gambling.I’ve never seen a bible say gambling is a sin.But just like drinking is said to be a sin they drink wine in the bible all of the time.So really it might just have to do with the churches beliefs.
In Islam, YES, gambling is a sin
But i think it is a sin, no matter the religion
by the way you say it alone “I realize many sins are caused by, or are committed as a result of gambling”
things that don’t look harmful but do provoke sins or bad doings are the specialty of Devil
One cannot make a legalistic answer to this or many other similar questions. Bottom line: if it causes relationship problems with your God, your spouse, your family, or friends…then possibly it is a “sinful activity” for you to be involved in. Beyond that, it is simply a choice that you make…
Those who are aware of pyramid models of making money with no product flows but only money collection and redistribution to the members at upper layer of the pyramid, are also aware of that it is a sin in many European countries perhaps in USA too. Why? perhaps it discourages real economic activities or creation of wealth or values. It is harmful to the economy.
Similarly gambling does not create any value itself rather it redistribute already created values or wealth based on numbers or scores or particular results of incidents. It creates a basic flaw in the economy. those who earn such gambling money using tricks or formulae, what they do with that money? …
If there is a real surplus of money that is deserved by people who are not included in the economic cycle in real sense or the benefit of economic cycle does not reaches them.
As such pure gambling is a sin or sinful. Now around gambling there many other forms of business activities. They might not be sin or sinful as long as those activities are real businesses creating values. But the gambling part still be sin or sinful or destruction of economy either local or economy of other parts people come from.
There are other sides as well. People sell there belongs harming families and societies.
I don’t think that the wagering itself is a sin, but it can be a symptom of other things, For example, if I buy a lottery tickey, and am aware that I am throwing away a buck I could have used to pay for my kids dental work, I am neglecting my responsibilities as a parent, which is sinful. If I hope and dream so much about what I would do if I became rich, I might be neglecting to focus on my job, or on school, or on whatever it is that I am supposed to be doing; which is sinful.
There are games of chance which can be played with dice or cards, which do not necessarily involve money. These are not necessarily sinful. It is not the money, but our reasons for doing what we do which make things sinful.
(I am not talking about other situations or acts which are specifically prohibited at all time and for any reason.)
There are also many different kinds of gambling, which do not involve money, or do not directly involve money. Risk-taking behavior is common among some people.
The person who drinks and drives takes the risk of not being involved in an accident or stopped by the police.
The person who has sex with medically unexamined partners may have convinced himself that his behavior is not risky, but it is. Either he enjoys the extra ‘thrill’ of danger, or there is an underlying sin (the lust) that urges him to take such extreme actions. The same thing holds for people who have multiple partners, or serial partners.
Physical risks (skydiving, scubadiving, hang gliding, bungee jumping, amusement park thrill-rides… the list is almost endless) can be seen as a substitute for danger and excitement in our ordinary day to day lives. It may be that when there is no challenge in our jobs or homes we may seek an artificial challenge.
So, even though the risk may be minimal (and, in the case of some extreme sports, their proponents will become quite vocal in insisting that their chosen activity is perfectly safe [but then, why would anybody try it, if it were perfectly safe…?]) the case may be that people who go in for these forms of entertainment are really looking for something else in their lives. So, here is a case where the gamble may not be a sin but a symptom.
I’m sure that you will be able to spot others, now that I have pointed out the pattern.
Why do Italian peasants go back to rebuld their vinyards on the slopes of the same volcano which has destroyed them, which has claimed the lives of their ancestors every few generations for countless thousands of years…?
Because they can’t give up the belief that it is ‘their’ land. Because they figure that another eruption is not likely to happen SOON. We estimate risks and take them when they seem low. And we forget the risks and the dangers until later, when we have overinvested and cannot pull out without serious loss. “Why,” we ask, “would anybody do something so unconscionably stupid?” It’s human nature.
I’d like to close with an anecdote by the well-known s/f author Isaac Asimov, relating an incident from his college days. he told how he had been raised not to gamble, but in college gave in to an invitation by his classmates to play poker. His conscience demanded that he confess it to his father, however.
He told him, “Father, I have to tell you the truth. I played poker with the guys. For money.”
“And what happened?”
“I lost twenty cents.”
“Thank God! You might have WON twenty cents!”
Asimov’s father was wise. He knew that a man’s entire future could be bent by the early success, the desire for just a little bit more, the false confidence and belief that one was lucky. Perhaps, at that stage of his son’s life, it was a serious sin. But he was, fortunately, spared the life-long temptation.