State-run lotteries are the most popular form of commercial gambling in the U.S., with half or more Americans participating in any given year. In 2003 total consumer spending on lotteries was nearly $45 billion or $155 per capita and today the average American spends more money on lotteries than on reading materials or movie theaters. Lotteries constitute an implicit tax similar to excise taxes on goods like cigarettes and alcohol. They are generally considered poor tax policy because they are regressive, not transparent to taxpayers, and aren't neutral and therefore distort economic behavior. Additional questions about lottery and gambling taxes? Contact Alicia Hansen at (202) 464-5114. For the rest of this article....Click here
You should be content with what you have is an argument against gambling. The passage found in Hebrews 13:5, Let you manner of life be free of the love of money, while you are content with present things , tells us that you should not try to gain material things when all of your basic needs are met.
Gambling is a waste of time even if you put aside the corruption of morals, and the waste of money. Time that could be spent improving oneself, or the lives of others, is thrown away, hour after hour, day after day, in every casino in America. It is there in those casinos that we witness time, that most precious of gifts bestowed upon us by a higher power, continually flushed away with every pull of the slot machine handle.
There are those that consider gambling a harmless pastime, a victimless crime. This pastime robs a person of time that could be put to good use and this is not victimless. The individual, as well as his or her society, is robbed of the potential of good and worthwhile deeds every time a casino door opens.
We must avoid corrupting the poor and disadvantaged and the young. Pathological and problem gamblers are more likely than other gamblers or non-gamblers to have been on welfare, declared bankruptcy, and to have been arrested or incarcerated. Those without disposable income may use their money to gamble instead of buying essential goods and services, such as health care and food, thus lowering their standard of living. Tax benefits to the state from gambling revenues may be insufficient even to remedy the decline in the standard of living. It's a fact that the fastest growing addiction among teenagers and college-age young people is gambling. The rate at which young people become addicted to gambling is about twice that of adults.
Count the cost to Society
Problem gamblers impose costs on the rest of society: crime related apprehension, adjudication, incarceration, social services cost for themselves and their families. Lost productivity is another social cost, as well as increased suicide, increased car accidents, increased incidence of child abuse. Expanding gambling nationwide would be more costly than an additional hurricane Andrew every year. That amounts to $32 billion in damage in perpetuity. Or it would be the equivalent of an additional 1990-91 recession roughly every decade. Studies show that dysfunctional gamblers use paychecks, savings, and borrowings from friends, relatives, and loan sharks to support their gambling. Many had work-related problems or had been fired from their jobs. Many engaged in illegal acts, such as embezzlement, forgery, filing false income tax returns, and insurance fraud.
Is Gambling sin?
Bible-believing Christians would consider compulsive gambling a sin. That is, gambling is sinful for those who are addicted to it. Compulsive gamblers sin by wasting time. Gambling is for them such an addiction, that most or all of their spare time is spent gambling in one form or another and weekends and vacations which should be spent with family are taken up with trips to cities that have casinos. The more focus on gambling an addicted person becomes the less time he spends with his family and the less productive he becomes in his job.
Time is a gift from God! God created time when He created the world. The first day of creation week, in Genesis 1:4-5 we read, "And God saw that the light was good. Then he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light "day" and the darkness "night." And evening passed and morning came, marking the first day." In Genesis 1:14 we read, "Then God said, Let lights appear in the sky to separate the day from the night. Let them mark off the seasons, days, and years." After all of this, He created man. Time was created first, for man's sake! That is, man must use his time to the glory of God, and in the service of God. This same truth is emphasized in the fourth commandment of God's law as written in Exodus 20:9,10: "Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates.".
The compulsive gambler wastes this gift of God, by using it for himself instead of for God.
Compulsive gamblers sin also by wasting money and possessions and can lead to theft and various other crimes against fellow man. Gamblers will use any money on hand to gamble. They will sell or pawn off their belongings to get more money with which to gamble. And when their resources are gone, they are very likely to turn to stealing to get money.
It is our duty to use the resources that God gives us wisely, and not desire what belongs to or neighbor. Money and possessions are gifts from God, to be used in His service. The eighth commandment, "Thou shalt not steal," reminds us that God gives humans enough resources to live on, in order to accomplish His purpose for us on earth. The child of God who prays, "Give us this day our daily bread," expresses that he looks to God to provide for his needs. In Luke 12:31, Jesus commanded His disciples, " But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well." But the gambler spends what God has given on gambling, and loses it. The result is that he and his family become poor. They lack the necessities of life -- not because they were never able to have them, but because they have squandered what they had!
Related to these two reasons why compulsive gambling is wrong is a third: God commands us to work, and in that way He will supply our needs. Proverbs 21:25-26 teaches us this: "The craving of a sluggard will be the death of him, because his hands refuse to work. All day long he craves for more, but the righteous give without sparing." Proverbs 28:19 says, "Those who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies will have their fill of poverty." The gambler, however, hopes to get money without working; and if he should win the jackpot, he often quits his job, to revel in his wealth. Also compulsive gambling is wrong because it is motivated by greed and covetousness.
Scripture condemns greed and covetousness. "Thou shalt not covet..." is the tenth commandment. Three passages show that God hates and will not save a covetous man. Psalm 10:3: "For the wicked boasteth of his heart's desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the LORD hateth." I Corinthians 6:9,10: "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither ... thieves, nor covetous ... shall inherit the kingdom of God." Ephesians 5:5: "For this ye know, that no ... covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of God and of Christ."
Jesus warned us against covetousness in Luke 12. Luke 12:13, His warning begins in answer to a question from a man: "Someone in the crowd said to him, Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me." Jesus' response in verse 15 is: "Then he said to them, Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions." Then Jesus spoke the parable of the rich fool, whose death was God's judgment on him for laying up treasure for himself.
The apostle Paul warned against covetousness in I Timothy 6:9-10: "Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs."
Gambling is a waste of time even if you put aside the corruption of morals, and the waste of money. Time that could be spent improving oneself, or the lives of others, is thrown away, hour after hour, day after day, in every casino in America. It is there in those casinos that we witness time, that most precious of gifts bestowed upon us by a higher power, continually flushed away with every pull of the slot machine handle.
There are those that consider gambling a harmless pastime, a victimless crime. This pastime robs a person of time that could be put to good use and this is not victimless. The individual, as well as his or her society, is robbed of the potential of good and worthwhile deeds every time a casino door opens.
We must avoid corrupting the poor and disadvantaged and the young. Pathological and problem gamblers are more likely than other gamblers or non-gamblers to have been on welfare, declared bankruptcy, and to have been arrested or incarcerated. Those without disposable income may use their money to gamble instead of buying essential goods and services, such as health care and food, thus lowering their standard of living. Tax benefits to the state from gambling revenues may be insufficient even to remedy the decline in the standard of living. It's a fact that the fastest growing addiction among teenagers and college-age young people is gambling. The rate at which young people become addicted to gambling is about twice that of adults.
Count the cost to Society
Problem gamblers impose costs on the rest of society: crime related apprehension, adjudication, incarceration, social services cost for themselves and their families. Lost productivity is another social cost, as well as increased suicide, increased car accidents, increased incidence of child abuse. Expanding gambling nationwide would be more costly than an additional hurricane Andrew every year. That amounts to $32 billion in damage in perpetuity. Or it would be the equivalent of an additional 1990-91 recession roughly every decade. Studies show that dysfunctional gamblers use paychecks, savings, and borrowings from friends, relatives, and loan sharks to support their gambling. Many had work-related problems or had been fired from their jobs. Many engaged in illegal acts, such as embezzlement, forgery, filing false income tax returns, and insurance fraud.
Is Gambling sin?
Bible-believing Christians would consider compulsive gambling a sin. That is, gambling is sinful for those who are addicted to it. Compulsive gamblers sin by wasting time. Gambling is for them such an addiction, that most or all of their spare time is spent gambling in one form or another and weekends and vacations which should be spent with family are taken up with trips to cities that have casinos. The more focus on gambling an addicted person becomes the less time he spends with his family and the less productive he becomes in his job.
Time is a gift from God! God created time when He created the world. The first day of creation week, in Genesis 1:4-5 we read, "And God saw that the light was good. Then he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light "day" and the darkness "night." And evening passed and morning came, marking the first day." In Genesis 1:14 we read, "Then God said, Let lights appear in the sky to separate the day from the night. Let them mark off the seasons, days, and years." After all of this, He created man. Time was created first, for man's sake! That is, man must use his time to the glory of God, and in the service of God. This same truth is emphasized in the fourth commandment of God's law as written in Exodus 20:9,10: "Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates.".
The compulsive gambler wastes this gift of God, by using it for himself instead of for God.
Compulsive gamblers sin also by wasting money and possessions and can lead to theft and various other crimes against fellow man. Gamblers will use any money on hand to gamble. They will sell or pawn off their belongings to get more money with which to gamble. And when their resources are gone, they are very likely to turn to stealing to get money.
It is our duty to use the resources that God gives us wisely, and not desire what belongs to or neighbor. Money and possessions are gifts from God, to be used in His service. The eighth commandment, "Thou shalt not steal," reminds us that God gives humans enough resources to live on, in order to accomplish His purpose for us on earth. The child of God who prays, "Give us this day our daily bread," expresses that he looks to God to provide for his needs. In Luke 12:31, Jesus commanded His disciples, " But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well." But the gambler spends what God has given on gambling, and loses it. The result is that he and his family become poor. They lack the necessities of life -- not because they were never able to have them, but because they have squandered what they had!
Related to these two reasons why compulsive gambling is wrong is a third: God commands us to work, and in that way He will supply our needs. Proverbs 21:25-26 teaches us this: "The craving of a sluggard will be the death of him, because his hands refuse to work. All day long he craves for more, but the righteous give without sparing." Proverbs 28:19 says, "Those who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies will have their fill of poverty." The gambler, however, hopes to get money without working; and if he should win the jackpot, he often quits his job, to revel in his wealth. Also compulsive gambling is wrong because it is motivated by greed and covetousness.
Scripture condemns greed and covetousness. "Thou shalt not covet..." is the tenth commandment. Three passages show that God hates and will not save a covetous man. Psalm 10:3: "For the wicked boasteth of his heart's desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the LORD hateth." I Corinthians 6:9,10: "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither ... thieves, nor covetous ... shall inherit the kingdom of God." Ephesians 5:5: "For this ye know, that no ... covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of God and of Christ."
Jesus warned us against covetousness in Luke 12. Luke 12:13, His warning begins in answer to a question from a man: "Someone in the crowd said to him, Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me." Jesus' response in verse 15 is: "Then he said to them, Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions." Then Jesus spoke the parable of the rich fool, whose death was God's judgment on him for laying up treasure for himself.
The apostle Paul warned against covetousness in I Timothy 6:9-10: "Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs."
From Hebrews 13:5, " Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." we can also see that, while covetousness is forbidden, contentment with what we have is positively commanded. The tenth commandment shows this also. When God forbids one thing, He by implication commands its opposite. So when He said, "Thou shalt not covet," we must understand Him to be requiring contentment of us. ent let us be therewith content."
The compulsive gambler is not every content he is interested only in getting more. And were he to get more, he would very likely still not be happy, but he continues gambling, for greed motivates him.
The compulsive gambler is not every content he is interested only in getting more. And were he to get more, he would very likely still not be happy, but he continues gambling, for greed motivates him.
Arguments Against Gambling bring you these Weekly Bible Verses
Romans 5:8:But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Philippians 4:8:
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things.
Philippians 4:7:
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Joshua 1:9:
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Isaiah 40:31:
but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
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