January 15, 2007, Vol.6, No.2.

Gambling

Keith Sharp

The co-winner of the 1993 Nobel prize for economics was Professor Robert W. Fogel of the University of Chicago. In 1974 he authored a book arguing that slavery is economically efficient. At the time he was widely viewed as condoning slavery. But in 1989 he published a follow-up book contending slavery is immoral. He still believes slavery is an economically efficient institution but opposes it on moral grounds (The Clarion Ledger, October 13, 1993, p. 5B). So, What?!

Slavery as an institution is not immoral. I oppose it on political grounds, but that is not my point. Gambling has become all the rage in our nation.

One can make a pretty good economic case for gambling. The federal government must balance the budget, all agree. So, programs it has mandated but not funded are left to the states to fund. The states are unable to persuade the voters to raise taxes. So, legalized gambling becomes a painless "voluntary tax" to meet the need. Big states, such as New York, California, Illinois, and Florida, which are able to come up with enormous jack pots, are making mega bucks with state lotteries. The arguments about increased crime and welfare abuse are hard to prove.

I often hear brethren argue against gambling on economic grounds. Not only is their position hard to prove, it is irrelevant! If gambling is morally wrong, what difference does it make whether it makes money or not? Nevada has turned a desert into a sinner's paradise on the foundation of legalized gambling. Gambling is wrong because it is immoral.

By "gambling" I mean "the act or practice of betting: the act of playing a game and consciously risking money or other stakes on its outcome " (Webster's Third New International Dictionary [unabridged], p. 932). Often people argue, "Life is a gamble. You can't walk across the street without gambling you won't get run over. A person can't go into business without gambling he won't go broke." Gambling is more than taking a risk. The key difference between legitimate business risks and gambling is that in morally right business, when one makes a profit, all involved profit. You buy a car from an honest dealer. He makes money, and you have dependable transportation. In gambling, one profits at the loss of others.

We can only acquire material wealth in ways the Lord permits (Colossians 3:17). The New Testament condones only four methods of acquiring wealth: work, fair exchange, investment and love. We may, and should, work to feed our families and to give to the needy (Ephesians 4:28; 2 Thessalonians 3:10,12). We may exchange one form of wealth for another, a fair sale or trade (Acts 5:3-4). We may invest money or goods in order to increase them (Matthew 25:26-27). In each of these ways there is a fair exchange to the benefit of all involved. Each involves a "win-win" situation. Also, one may, as a voluntary act of love, give something of value to another with no monetary return expected (Acts 20:35; Ephesians 4:28).

Gambling not only fails to fit any of these categories, it actually violates the principle behind them all. Earned wealth involves a fair exchange to the benefit of all involved. In gambling, the winner gives nothing in return to the losers. One wins to the detriment of all others involved. The whole premise behind gambling is "get rich quick" - the attempt to acquire wealth without work. Rather than giving through love, the winner takes what the loser does not want to give up.

Mature Christians are able to "discern good and evil" by recognizing when a specific practice violates a scriptural principle (Hebrews 5:14). Gambling violates the most basic quality of Christ-like character: unselfish love. We must love all people (Matthew 5:43-48). Love is manifested by concerned giving (1 John 3:16-18). We must never be selfish, but must seek what is good for others (Matthew 7:12; Philippians 2:4). How can we claim to have such unselfish love when we selfishly take what belongs to another, with no regard for his needs or the needs of his family, and give nothing in return?

Furthermore, the basis of gambling is the desire to acquire something for nothing, wealth without work, whereas the disciples of Christ must desire to earn what they receive (2 Thessalonians 3:8).

The basis of gambling is "covetousness," the "greedy desire to have more" ( Thayer. 516), which is a form of idolatry (Colossians 3:5-6). It is caused by the love of money, and "the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil" (1 Timothy 6:6-10).

Often the evil nature of gambling is hidden by a worthy cause as its object. How many school needs have been funded by raffles? A worthy purpose does not justify a sinful method, i.e., the end does not justify the means (Romans 3:8). Shall we permit doctor assisted suicides to alleviate the suffering of the terminally ill?

Will legalized gambling simply cause more economic problems long term than it cures short term? Probably. But that's not the issue. The issue is, Is it right? The answer, NO! Christ does not authorize it, and His word condemns it in principle. There is no more to say.