Christians and the state lottery

[Guest Biblicist]

My husband and his friends from work play the lottery every week. They put their money together, just a "few" bucks each, and play. So far they have not won much but he does not see anything wrong with that and I trust him.

I remember my mother saying things like "Throwing good money after bad." But I have never heard one Bible verse even remotely concerned with gambling...Prostitution and doing illegal drugs, on the other hand, are absolutly un-Biblical.

I wonder if it would fit into the same category as going out to a movie when you really can't afford it, or purchasing a piece of furniture that you don't have the funds for. Being a good steward would cover over a great many monitairy practices.

[Guest LadyC]

"thou shalt not gamble"? i don't see a problem either. here we have an example of spirit of the law or letter of the law, i suppose.

keeping in mind, tho, that christianity is not a religion of rules but of relationship if gambling is wrong for you then don't do it. some must have strict rules in order to stay on the path but if they stay loving, that's okay too.

Shalom,

I have always thought of the Lottery as gambling and we have never participated in it.

However, in our Ladies' Bible class recently, one of the gals gave us something to think about. She said that she played the scratch off every week ($2.00 I believe) and it did not take away from any funds for their family and she WAS under the impression that proceeds DID go to the school system (at least a percentage) and that if she won, it would benefit the church as well as herself.

She felt it was no different than a raffle (cost $2.00) that the Christian school has from time to time to raise funds.

What do y'all think about what she said?

i tend to agree!

ok now pat me on the back, i moved into the 21st century and learned how to use the mutiquote function! woohoo!

[Smalcald]

Why not just have government sponsored prostitution, or maybe we could legalize pot and fund our schools with the tax revenues from that?

Shalom,

Oh Smalcald. <sigh>

OK now, the state lottery is the same as legalized prostitution and marijuana use?

Can we say STRAW MAN fallacy?????

Back to the question at hand, how is a $2.00 scratch off ticket per week ANY different than a $2.00 raffle from the Christian school per week? Some of the proceeds help the school. The person buying a $2.00 ticket CAN afford it and is not out breaking in homes and selling drugs to raise the $2.00.

So, is the $2.00 scratch off any different than a $2.00 raffle ticket from a Christian school?

The $2.00 scratch off is different from the 2.00 raffle ticket from a Christian school in many many ways. It is different from the 2.00 raffle ticket in the same way that betting 2.00 on blackjack in some casino is different. One benefits big time organized gambling interests who run the giant state lotteries and is always available 24/7 you can go gamble at your local convenience store at 2am, and people do. The other is simply a way to raise a little money for a school although I would not personally be a part of a Christian group that used gambling to raise money.

We should look at the environment and culture we live in, I believe that having gambling available in our daily lives in all of these stores is simply one more step down the path, it is normalizing gambling when our government itself becomes the Casino owner.

[Vickilynn]

Why not just have government sponsored prostitution, or maybe we could legalize pot and fund our schools with the tax revenues from that?

Shalom,

Oh Smalcald. <sigh>

OK now, the state lottery is the same as legalized prostitution and marijuana use?

Can we say STRAW MAN fallacy?????

Back to the question at hand, how is a $2.00 scratch off ticket per week ANY different than a $2.00 raffle from the Christian school per week? Some of the proceeds help the school. The person buying a $2.00 ticket CAN afford it and is not out breaking in homes and selling drugs to raise the $2.00.

So, is the $2.00 scratch off any different than a $2.00 raffle ticket from a Christian school?

The $2.00 scratch off is different from the 2.00 raffle ticket from a Christian school in many many ways. It is different from the 2.00 raffle ticket in the same way that betting 2.00 on blackjack in some casino is different. One benefits big time organized gambling interests who run the giant state lotteries and is always available 24/7 you can go gamble at your local convenience store at 2am, and people do. The other is simply a way to raise a little money for a school although I would not personally be a part of a Christian group that used gambling to raise money.

We should look at the environment and culture we live in, I believe that having gambling available in our daily lives in all of these stores is simply one more step down the path, it is normalizing gambling when our government itself becomes the Casino owner.

Shalom Smalcald,

You are going ALL around the block and not answering the question directly.

Where something is open 24/7 does not make that lady's $2.00 scratch off a sin.

Our environment is not the question either.

So you would not support a Christian school that had a raffle to raise funds?

Well, OK, that's your opinion, but it's your opinion, not a Biblical command. Your choice.

Personally, I see NO difference between a $2.00 scratch off ticket and a $2.00 ticket for our Christian school (which I do support BTW).

So, no, I don't see it as a sin.

However, if someone has an addiction to gambling, or they cannot control their spending, or it takes away from their family, I would say stay away from it. But to blanketly condemn the state education lottery out of hand, I disagree with.

[irishcowboy]

many times i have heard arguments that the church is using raffles to raise funds for this that or other......

let us look at it this way........

if we would follow the Word of God, we would have no need for fund raisers.... if every person that is a member would TITHE, the church would have all the monies it needed to do everything it needed, buildings, missions, outreaches, salaries and wages, buses, homeless, childrens, poor box, so forth and so on......

there would be no need for social services (welfare) either.....

raffles and bingo and such for fund raising are a way of justifying gambling..... it is poor use of God's money, no matter which way we look at it..... poor stewardship....

i believe both are just wrong.... do more damage then good....

mike

[AndrewA]

God provides for us. We all have been given a way to earn or receive money, it is up to us to make sure we spend and use that money wisely. Certainly there is nothing wrong on spending money on yourself for your own pleasure, especially if you have tithed 10% of your money , paid all your bills and made sure that you and the people who depend on you do not go without food, clothes, warmth shelter etc.

Even so, is spending that $2 a wise use of the money, is it good stewardship? In the UK the national lottery has been running since 1994, I know people who have been buying tickets and scratch cards ever since it started, at most they just win a few pounds, nothing serious. They have spent on average

[Vickilynn]

many times i have heard arguments that the church is using raffles to raise funds for this that or other......

let us look at it this way........

if we would follow the Word of God, we would have no need for fund raisers.... if every person that is a member would TITHE, the church would have all the monies it needed to do everything it needed, buildings, missions, outreaches, salaries and wages, buses, homeless, childrens, poor box, so forth and so on......

there would be no need for social services (welfare) either.....

raffles and bingo and such for fund raising are a way of justifying gambling..... it is poor use of God's money, no matter which way we look at it..... poor stewardship....

i believe both are just wrong.... do more damage then good....

mike

Shalom Mike,

That is your opinion and you are entitled to it. However, it is not wrong if someone else's view differs.

As for the church raffle, IF everyone tithed (which they don't) doesn't mean the school will have all the funds they need.

The sad truth is, less than 25% of church members tithe to their church.

Raffles and Bingo are not gambling in my book. But, to those who feel it is, they should abstain.

You can say "IF" people would tithe all day long, but until they actually DO, there are going to be needs in the church and the church school.

[Guest Biblicist]

I would like to see ONE person post scripture against gambling or playing the state lottery.

[Ddavid from NC]

I would like to see ONE person post scripture against gambling or playing the state lottery.

There are no references to gambling, but plenty references to greed for money and stewardship. That is where a person has to begin his/her discernment.

[Vickilynn]

I would like to see ONE person post scripture against gambling or playing the state lottery.

There are no references to gambling, but plenty references to greed for money and stewardship. That is where a person has to begin his/her discernment.

Shalom D-d-d-david!

Exactly. What may be a temptation to sin for one, is not for another. We, as individual Christians must seek the L-rd and ask if this is an area of potential lack of self control or sin in our lives. For some it is definitely. For some it is not.

I know if I spend hours and hours dreaming of what I would do with millions of bucks, I would suspect that I may have a problem trusting G-d. However, if I see it as a fun thing to do, it will benefit someone (the schools and whomever I tithe to such as our church) and hey SOMEBODY has to win, right? And if I played small money tickets and I could afford them...then, it most likely wouldn't be a problem. But, the point is, each person must answer that for themselves, as it is a matter of conviction, not Biblical mandate.