The Bible provides holy text for many people. Christians around the world turn to it for their everyday morals and its teachings. It’s also sacred to those who follow Judaism and Samaritanism, as well as various other religions. Written in Hebrew in its original form, today it is available in many languages. The texts within include instructions, stories, poetry and more.
Most people see the Bible as a product of divine intervention, yet there are also different interpretations of the text within. It serves as the best-selling publication of all time, having sold over 5 billion copies.
It is also the Bible that some people turn to when it comes to gambling. There are various passages within the book that refer to the activity. This provides certain different views on gambling. Of course, we all know that gambling comes in different forms itself. Sports betting, casino gaming, lottery ticket sales, flipping coins, and so on.
Do Christians believe that gambling in any form is right in the eyes of God? Afterall, gambling is legal and has been pushed to modern heights by many Christian countries? Well, let’s take a look at what the Bible says about gambling.
Gambling is Wrong…
According to The Christian Institute, gambling is wrong. It describes it as an activity in which wealth changes hands. This occurs on the basis of chance and with risk to the gambler.
Gambling is not a creative effort according to the institute and it does not need useful skills. Responsible investment is not an integral factor, either.
It highlights three legitimate ways in which wealth can change hands. It takes those teachings from the Bible. Those three ways are:
- By giving money
- By working for money
- By genuine exchange
It then goes on to say that anything else other than those three ways is “virtual theft”. This breaks the 8th commandment, “Thou shall not steal”.
The institute mentions that there are also three impulses behind gambling. They are the desire for gain, desire for thrill and desire for competition. Yet the moral and ethical issues surrounding gambling focus on the first impulse. The desire for gain.
If you look at Colossians 3:5, you see the text:
“Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.”
The Apostle Paul said those words. Gambling appeals to covetousness and greed, and they are both idolatry.
You could also look at Matthew 6:24, which says:
“No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despite the other, Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”
Mammon is the biblical term for riches and material wealth. Thus, it is saying that man cannot serve both God and money. Gamblers are also described as “greedy” and “unrepentant”. Thus, they cannot receive salvation, according to Ephesians 5:5.
Gambling also relies on other people incurring financial loss. In the Bible, Jesus speaks of only doing “to others what you would have them do to you…”. Gambling depends on doing to others what we would not have them do to us, though. At that point, no gambler desires the best for the person they are gambling with. Instead, there is an indifference there to fellow gamblers. In essence, a gambler wants their opponent to lose so that they can win money. In any honest transaction, it is the intent of both parties to benefit. Gambling sees one person gain and the other lose.
It is also the case that gambling denies the work ethic that the Bible talks about. This links honest labour with reward. You can look to the text in Ephesians 4:28 for insight into this. There, the Apostle Paul says:
“If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need.”
With gambling, there is a sense of being able to get something for nothing. According to The Christian Institute, it encourages laziness rather than good work ethics. Thessalonians 3:10 condemns laziness.
Other Bible Quotations
There is so much within the Bible that can relate in a negative way towards gambling. It depends upon how you view the activity and the Bible.
Your interpretation of the texts could be different to someone else’s. Here are some other quotes from the Bible that some have used to protest gambling.
- “Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it” (Proverbs 13:11)
- “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs” (1 Timothy 6:10)
- “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you now forsake you.’” (Hebrews 13:5)
- “He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity” (Ecclesiastes 5:10)
- “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?” (Mark 8:36)
- “And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots” (Matthew 27:35)
- “Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits will have plenty of poverty” (Proverbs 28:19)
Many other verses from the Bible can relate to gambling in some way. Some people take these quotes as gospel and live their lives without gambling of any kind.
The 10th Commandment:
“You shall not covet your neighbours house; you shall not covet your neighbour’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbour’s”.
That commandment is all about covetousness. Some would question why people gamble – because they covet money. As highlighted above, Timothy 6:10 declares money the “root of all evil”. Thus, engaging in gambling and enticing others to do so falls in with these texts. In this respect, it goes against Christian teachings.
It is prominent to note that the Bible does not condemn gambling in any specific way. This means that options like lotteries, sports betting and casino gaming aren’t mentioned. Instead, what it does speak of is to stay away from the love of money. That much is visible in the quote from Hebrews 13:5 noted above. Of course, attempts to get rich quick are also spoken of as being bad routes to take. Gambling has that focus on the love of money. At the same time, it has an undeniable temptation for people to get rich quick. Thus, it goes against the Bible’s teachings in general once again.
Of course, it is a difficult subject, because some people only partake in gambling from time to time, some people gamble for entertainment not necessarily to win and so see loses as a form of payment for that. Some describe this act as a waste of money, although not as something bad in particular. People around the world waste money on all sorts on a daily basis. Even so, this does not justify gambling in the eyes of Christianity. You shouldn’t waste money in any way. Excess money should, according to the Bible, go towards future needs or given to the Lord’s work. Thus, gambling is not something to use it on.
There is No Explicit Mention of Gambling in the Bible
You could read the Bible from start to finish and then re-read it and you won’t find the words “gamble” or “gambling”. It does not write about gambling in any explicit or specific way. Yet it references certain things that are akin to gambling.
This includes instances of “luck” or “chance”. We noted before about the moment that lots were cast to distribute Jesus’ garments after his crucifixion. We could also highlight the casting of lots in another part of the Bible. This came about in Leviticus when choosing between the sacrificial goat and the scapegoat. Joshua also casts lots to determine the allotment of land to various tribes. Nehemiah did the same to determine which people would live within the walls of Jerusalem.
One of the most famous stories in the Bible surrounds Judas. He is the disciple that betrays Jesus for 30 silver coins. Following his suicide by hanging, the apostles needed a replacement for him. Thus, they cast lots to determine who who take Judas’ place.
In Proverbs 16:33, the text says:
“The lot is cast in the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord”.
It’s not uncommon for gambling and churches to have links, though. The church has even come under scrutiny in the past for widely providing bingo nights, raffles and various other games of chance. While these games are often linked to charity, such as a fund to fix the church roof, with non or low cash prizes, it is still gambling by definition. It suggests that even the church itself is not entirely sure on how to define gambling within Christianity, although, you are unlikely to find churches promoting betting or hosting casino/poker evenings.
Indeed, some people claim to be playing the lottery for the church. If they win, they claim that it is their intent to donate the money to the church or another good cause. Of course, that’s a good motive to have for gambling, right? Yet it would surprise you how few actually go ahead with donating this money or using it for godly purposes. In some instances, it isn’t even accepted.
In 2015, Marie Holmes of Shallotte, North Carolina won $188 million on the Powerball in America. The mother-of-four made history with the win, and she knew what she would spend some of her money on. She announced that she would be paying her tithe. This is usually 10% of a person’s annual produce or earnings. That money is a sort of tax that goes to the support of a church and the clergy.
An avid churchgoer, Holmes said that she wanted her children to understand her situation. She said that money “doesn’t change you, but it can help you”. This is why she wanted to donate part of her lottery winnings to her local church. Holmes also moved out of her trailer and purchased a $350,000 home in a wealthy area. She set up college funds for her children, too. Unfortunately, things were about to take a turn for the worse in her life.
The pastor of her local Baptist church in Pleasant Hill said that God had led him to her and her family. She believed in his good intentions and invited him to her home for ministerial services. He then went on to ask her for $1.5 million so he could build a retreat. A verbal agreement took place, but nothing was ever signed to make it official. Pastor Matthews then went ahead and built the retreat with his own money. His expectation was for Holmes to reimburse him. Upon hearing of this, she denied that there was any written agreement to this. The pastor then did the unthinkable and sued her for $10 million.
With nothing in writing, he had little case against her, though. It did tarnish her reputation until the story went viral. People online jumped to Holmes’ defence, expressing their outrage at the pastor’s greed. The lottery winner had already donated $700,000 to his church as part of the tithe. (She had chosen to split the 10% tithe between several churches in the area). Needless to say, he seemed to have little appreciation for that donation to the Baptist church.
To Conclude
In conclusion, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that gambling is not seen as good in the eyes of the Bible. So too, it isn’t seen as a good way of spending time by many Christians. Yet this doesn’t stop a lot of people who follow the faith from engaging in it. In December of 2017, a Florida-based Irish priest travelled back to his homeland. While there for his Christmas break, he played the EuroMillions Plus lottery and won €0.5 million. As it happens, that wasn’t his first lottery win, either. He won £15,000 on the old Irish sweepstakes many years before.
Monsignor Delaney spoke with the Irish Times while in his home country. At the time, he said, “God gave it to me for some reason and I will give it away”. He promised to give his winnings to those in need. Whether that came to fruition or not is unknown.
Therefore, the truth is that different Christians look at gambling in different ways. The same is likely true of non-Christians and others with different faiths. The Bible may cast a negative light on the activity, but each individual makes up their own mind.
The fact remains that it is largely Christian countries like the UK, the US and mainland Europe that have created the gambling industry that we know today. While these are largely political decisions it is still a fact that many more Christians gamble compared with Islam where the practice is clearly banned in scripture. In some countries, like Iran, it is not unheard of for people to be severely punished and even killed for gambling, that is certainly not the case in Christian countries.