Christians and the state lottery

[jackie d]

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.

true, but I think that the topic of gambling and state lotteries just might be an area where we consider if our beliefs/personal convictions may or may not cause a stumbling block for the "weaker" Christian...

[Vickilynn]

Shalom,

I'd like to tell y'all a story from our life. This is true. All of it.

My husband was injured in the line of duty as a cop. He was permanently disabled. He had a small settlement coming and we decided to move out of state to a place where real estate was less expensive than NC. We found a lovely 5-acre mini-farm in the mountains for a fraction of what we could find for a tiny shack in NC.

So, we moved our family to a tiny, rural, coal-mining town in WV.

Well, our children were miserable. The only "church" there was a community church and as dead as nails. They had no friends because the small town was very closed to "outsiders." We were made fun of and treated poorly because we did not drink, smoke, swear, or send our children to public school (we homeschooled).

We had been there about a year when our eldest daughter came and told us that she had secretly been filling out the Publisher's Clearing House mail and sending it in. We were shocked! We never bothered with that. We asked her why and she tearfully told us that she longed to go back to NC and because we had no money, and we didn't play the lottery, the ONLY way we'd ever get back to NC was to win this PCH offer.

We shared with her the Scriptures about prayer, trusting G-d and letting HIM choose our path. We showed her that physically, we could not sell the farm and move (we had sunk all our money into it and there was nothing in NC that we could afford, that was why we left.) We told her to pray, pray pray for G-d's will, not hers and trust HIM to place her in the best place for her. We spent about a year continuing to teach her this very important lesson about not trusting in windfalls to get what we want, but trusting G-d and HIS will over our own.

About another year later, I was diagnosed in critical condition with Acute Leukemia and hovered near death for 5 weeks. It was horrible. And I had a long road to face of 2 years of chemo if I survived. I wanted a second opinion from my family dr in NC, but we had no place to stay. G-d provided through a miracle, a furnished apartment, free of charge so I could get a second opinion.

While we were in NC, we found out that our insurance would ONLY pay for chemo as an outpatient if we LIVED in NC and would not pay if we lived in WV. So, we stayed for 2 years in that lovely, tiny, miracle apartment. We always planned on going back home to WV. Even though our daughter said she'd rather die than go back, we had no choice.

Then, my father passed away and he said before he died that he wanted us off that isolated farm (he called it "Little House In the Woods') and back in NC where we had a good church and good support and good friends. He left us enough money for a down payment on a house.

But, we faced many obstacles in selling our farm as it needed repairs we could not afford. It had been closed up for 2 years and neither my husband or I were physically able to pack up the house contents.

Anyway, to make a long story short, G-d worked through EVERY ONE of those obstacles and we sold the farm, bought a home here in NC and our daughter never had to go back to WV except to pack up her things and place it on the U-Haul.

(If anyone ever wants me to list these miracles that G-d did I would be happy to. They are nothing short of real miracles from G-d and I give Him all the glory!)

The reason I told all y'all this is because our daughter learned NOT to trust in Publisher's Clearing house, but to trust in G-d! She learned that praying according to HIS will was more important than praying for Him to fulfill our wishes. And she learned that G-d can MOVE MOUNTAINS to make things work to make His will come to pass. She learned that G-d is the One to trust.

I hope this helps someone.

[jackie d]

that is an awesome testimony Vickilynn, and I am so thankful that the Lord saw fit to care for all needs and that you are still here with us today...God bless you and your family

[WayneB]

Anyway, to make a long story short, G-d worked through EVERY ONE of those obstacles...

God is good! We just need to TRUST HIM. Thanks for sharing Vickilynn.

[Guest Biblicist]

If you are putting your faith in the lottery instead of God then you are worshiping an idol, instead of the God of the universe.

Thank you for the story Vickilynn, it's a beautiful wonderful testimony.

Playing the lottery may not be a sin, but if you are trusting in that to fulfill you needs instead of God, then it is.

My God shall supply all my needs!

[WayneB]

My personal opinion?

My wife and I work hard for our money and I have NEVER felt comfortable throwing it away on a "chance". That's me, though.

My biggest beef with lotteries, gambling, whatever has little to do with the actual activity but more to do with the people who become addicted to it. Like David pointed out, the sin is in the love of money...and most (not all) of those who particpate are in it it to win big. Not just entertainment. Allowing lotteries and other gambling establishments is just a snare for too many people.

Some years ago, the Mississippi river was way over flood stage. A lot of folks who lived along the Mississippi river lost everything. We visited St. Louis, MO not long after and were suprised to see the gambling boats busy. Why? Where was all that money coming from? Insurance settlements... folks were taking their insurance settlements and trying to double it.

[Guest Biblicist]

Oh, that is very sad Wayne.

[Vickilynn]

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.

true, but I think that the topic of gambling and state lotteries just might be an area where we consider if our beliefs/personal convictions may or may not cause a stumbling block for the "weaker" Christian...

Shalom Jackie,

I'm answering this because someone might REALLY be helped by this answer and isn't just looking for a place to throw a barb.

Yes, if a Christian was playing the State Lottery and they knew that someone was offended and would stumble, the Christian's responsibility would be to lay down their freedom in deference of the one who would be offended. That is what the Scriptures say and we are to obey or we are disobeying G-d.

And if someone will NOT lay it down, they might consider that it has become an idol in their life, which G-d abhors. This applies to anything that we refuse to lay down for our brother.

[Guest LadyC]

i totally disagree that "most people are in it to win and win big", nor is it a love of money. how can i say this? come to vegas and go to one of the casinos OFF the strip, where the locals go, and many of them spend their entire days there. where are they playing? in the penny or nickle slot areas.

you can't win "big" at a nickle or penny slot. usually you don't win at all, because you just continue playing with your winnings until it's gone..... just like if you were playing astroids or pacman at a video arcade. you can literally make ten dollar bill last half a day or longer. i honestly believe that the majority of penny- and nickel players do it out of loneliness.

and even ON the strip, where the tourists hang out, most of them will stick to the quarter slots, or the $2 tables. they're not looking for a landfall of money, they are looking for some entertainment. they come here on vacation and have a certain amount of money set aside just to have fun with.

now i'm not saying that there aren't a lot of people addicting to gambling... i babysat for a co-worker of my husband's for about three weeks. i finally quit, because i never got paid. every monday after work, she'd take her check and cash it at a casino and then blow it.... and the day i quit she had blown her entire $1900 paycheck (yes, that was for one week), gambling and drinking. for many people, this really is a problem, and a big one. but those are the exceptions, not the rules.

how many people actually buy a lottery ticket expecting to win? not any that i know of. although when they do win, it's usually not a good thing.

the biblical principals that are contrary to lotteries and gambling are greed, a love for money, and poor stewardship. it is very, very possible to enjoy a game of chance without being greedy or idolizing money, and yes, even possible to do so without being a poor steward of your money. thus gambling, in and of itself, whether on a lottery ticket or anything else, is not a sin.

[EricH]

I have never done it, but only because I understand the odds and realize it is a wast of money for most of us