Does The Bible Say Gambling Is A Sin?
By
Christian teaching advises us to avoid vice in all of
its forms. It tells us not to be greedy, not to be vain, not to be immoral, and
not to take actions that harm us or the people around us. Because of that, we
tend to automatically believe that gambling is a sin. We look upon the recent explosion in the popularity of sports betting in the United States of America, and we
shake our heads because we automatically assume that it's sinful. Are we
correct to do that, though? Is there anything in the Bible that suggests that
people should never indulge in it, or are we assuming something is there when
it actually isn't? It might surprise you to
hear that the word 'gamble' doesn't appear in the New Testament once. There
isn't a specific instruction to avoid gambling, and nor is there a stated
consequence for gambling in terms of your spiritual well-being. That doesn't
mean that you have a free pass to start registering for accounts on online
slots websites, though. Just because something isn't explicitly stated doesn't
mean that it isn't implied. When we spend money on a spin of the reels of an online slots, we're risking money in the hope of
making more - and that alone might constitute greed. 'Might' isn't the same as
'does,' though, and so we need more guidance. Are we sinning when we play
online slots? Should we pray for forgiveness every time we walk into a casino?
Let's look more closely at the texts, and see if we can reach any conclusions. The Casting Of Lots In many different books and chapters of the Bible,
you'll find references to 'casting lots' - a process known as cleromancy, and a
common method of ending ancient disputes. In modern parlance, we'd call it
'drawing straws.' It's a lottery, and therefore by its very nature, it's a
gamble. Joshua 18:10 tells us that Joshua cast lots in order to determine the
correct distribution of land in Israel, and also that he did this in the
presence of the Lord. That doesn't suggest condemnation. It's tantamount to
suggesting approval. More famously than that, the New Testament tells us
that Roman soldiers drew lots to determine the matter of who 'won' Christ's
garments at the end of the crucifixion. Rather than tearing the clothes, they
drew lots for each garment and settled the matter that way. You'll find a
direct reference to this at John 19:24. Evidence To The Contrary Although the above passages suggest that a form of
gambling was popular in the time of Christ and that Christ never specifically
spoke against it, we can see from elsewhere in the Bible that there's also a
tone of disapproval. Most famously, we have Timothy 6:10. That's where we're
explicitly told that money is the root of all evil. The phrase is so well-known
today that people use it all the time without ever realizing where it came from
- even when they're trying to argue that the opposite is true. The extended text reminds us that many people have wandered from the
path of the righteous in the quest for money, and in doing so, have encountered
grief. In most cases, people gamble because they want to win money. Matthew 6:24 is even more direct in its criticism of
people who place the love of money above all other things. The verse tells us
that it's impossible to love God and love money at the same time - you have to
choose one, and for Christians, there's no choice. In both cases, though, these are pieces of advice
intended to help us to live better lives. They're neither commandments nor
instructions and nowhere is it said that gambling is a sin that might come with
a cost to your immortal soul. Gambling As A Form Of
Entertainment To many people, gambling is a form of entertainment as
much (if not more) than it is a means of making or pursuing money. People
gamble because it entertains them, it helps them to pass the time, and it makes
them smile. Entertainment, as we all know without having to look at the
scriptures, is not a sin. We don’t feel like we’re doing anything wrong when we
go to a movie theater, and nor when we sit in front of the television or pick
up a controller to play our favorite video games. If gambling is mere
entertainment, then is it even possible for it to be a sin? The answer to that question probably lies in the truth
behind your motivations. If you know in your heart that you’re given to gamble
by greed and avarice, your motivations are sinful. If you’re only spending
money that you can afford to lose and you have the presence of mind to stop
when you’re ahead, and never to spend money that you need for essential
purposes, you can probably rest easy. Can We Reach A Conclusion?
The Bible was written in a time long before many forms
of modern entertainment existed. The Bible doesn't contain a specific direction
for us not to play online slots, because online slots didn't exist at the time
it was written - and neither did the internet! We don't need a scripture to
tell us that allowing children to play violent video games is wrong, though -
we know it in our hearts, and we know it because of our interpretation of God's
will as is laid out within the Bible. Should we say the same about gambling? Ultimately, this is a matter to be decided by
individuals. The Bible doesn't specifically forbid gambling, but it does
repeatedly warn us against the pursuit of materialism, and it also repeatedly
warns us against putting the love of money above the love of God. Gambling
probably shouldn't be classed as a sin - but that doesn't mean that it's an
activity that a Christian should enter into without giving serious
consideration to their motives for doing so. If you know in your heart that
you're playing for fun, carry on. If you're questioning your motives, and that
process of questioning brought you here, you ought to know what do to already.
