Session 2:
Gambling and the Godly Life

Christians have traditionally offered four reasons to be concerned about gambling: first, because the games focus on acquiring wealth, gambling can encourage the sins of greed and covetousness; second, the emphasis on chance can be an occasion for despair and distrust in God's promises; third, gambling can lead us to misuse stewardship over our time, talents, and resources; and fourth, gambling can place vulnerable members of our communities at risk of great harm.

1. Greed
Many Christians regard gambling as wrongful because they believe it promotes the sins of greed and covetousness. When people gamble out of a desire for material gain, motivated by images of great wealth, they risk falling into sin. Of course, gambling is not the only thing people do out of greed. Some work only for money, and some even make friends in order to exploit them for personal gain. Gambling, however, offers a more concentrated opportunity for the sin of greed, because the whole activity revolves around winning -- or losing -- money

The Bible calls this striving for riches pleonexia (literally "graspingness"). We continually grasp for more: more of what our neighbors have, more of what we see advertised on television, more of what our culture counts as "the good life." In our grasping, we sin against God and our neighbor.

Like many sins, greed represents a perversion of the gifts God bestows on us in creation. God gives us material goods that we can use to provide for ourselves, our families, and our communities. Instead of accepting these gifts in a spirit of thanksgiving, we are often discontent with what God has given us, and we want more. This inordinate striving to acquire more wealth is greed. Inordinate is the key word: it means both "misdirected" and "out of proportion." All God's gifts -- our possessions and our whole life -- should be used to glorify God and to serve our neighbor. In greed, however, we divert those goods for our own selfish desires. And greed misdirects not only the use of these goods; it misdirects the desire -- the love -- that we should have for God. Thus, greed reflects our disproportionate concern for material goods. We worship goods, these creations of God, instead of the Creator. In Matthew 6:24, Jesus describes the ultimate implication of our disproportionate concern for goods: "No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth." As Colossians 3:5 indicates, greed is a form of idolatry.

In greed and its close relation, covetousness, we sin against our neighbors as well as against God. Gambling can easily lead to the sin of desiring our neighbor's possessions because of its "zero sum" quality (discussed in the previous session). Whatever I win, a neighbor must lose. It is often a short step from that observation to covetousness: "I want my neighbor to lose so I can win."

Gambling can feed our desire for wealth and our temptation to idolatry, but not all who gamble fall into these sins. Some gamble only for recreation, for the challenge of beating the odds, and pay little attention to their wins and losses. They use gambling, and wealth generally, in an "ordinate" fashion, keeping in mind the proper relationship between created goods and the Creator.

But many who gamble do fall into the sins of greed, covetousness, and idolatry. And these sins can have devastating consequences. The words of 1 Timothy 6:9-10 serve as a warning: "Those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains." Greed's obsession with wealth damages our relationship with God, alienates us from family and friends, and coarsens all our relationships with other people -- who cease to be "neighbor" and become rivals for the next jackpot. And because material goods do not deserve and cannot bear the weight we put on them, greed ultimately leads many to despair.

2. Distrust of God
Some Christians express concern that gambling's emphasis on chance is inconsistent with a believer's trust in God's providence. This concern is especially appropriate for those who gamble out of a sense of despair. When work does not provide subsistence, much less prosperity, gambling can appear to be the only alternative to continued need. In their hopelessness, gambling invites people to place their trust in Fortune, in Lady Luck, in the Big Chance. As Lutheran ethicist David Krueger writes,

Vegas's appeal to the nonaffluent . . . suggests a general malaise and absence of belief in the capacity of themselves and the institutions of American society to create adequate opportunity and well-being for large segments of our society. Do many believe that gambling becomes the only "real" hope to better their lives?

To make matters worse, gambling's hope is illusory. Very few "hit the jackpot"; most can only hope to break even. And many lose what little they have.

For believers, gambling's invitation is doubly destructive. Not only is the hope illusory; the trust gambling invites misdirects our true faithfulness. One who trusts in fortune will probably be disappointed: the odds can't be in your favor, or the "house" would go out of business. Disappointment is not the Christian's only danger: one who trusts in fortune also fails to trust in God's provident care. (See Luke 12:29-31; 1 Tim. 6:17-18.) Hopelessness is itself a sin, a sign that we have forgotten -- or no longer believe -- that God answers our prayer "Give us this day our daily bread." Our faith consists in holding fast to God's promise to care for us and to sustain us; it is incompatible with gambling's seductive invitation to put our hope in luck.

In addition, some worry that gambling leads people to overstate the importance of random luck in all areas of life. Gambling's chance comes to symbolize an arbitrary universe. For Christians, any stress on arbitrariness should be troubling for two reasons. First, as with the sin of hopelessness, it means that we deny that God continues to govern -- to care for and sustain creation. And second, overemphasis on chance denies our God-given ability to exercise rational control over many areas of human life. Because of our ability to make rational judgments, we should attempt to minimize the places in our lives that are random, not enlarge or celebrate them. Think for example of traffic safety. One could say that auto accidents are random events, and that any driver "gambles" when she gets behind the wheel, but shouldn't we aim to minimize the risk of accidents -- perhaps by installing stop lights or setting speed limits?

Some Christians raise a different objection to gambling's emphasis on chance. When gambling offers the opportunity to "get rich quick" (a focus of much lottery advertising) it can diminish the significance of productive labor. Work comes to be seen as an avoidable burden -- avoidable, that is, if you beat the odds. But Christians believe that work is a blessing, not a curse. God gives each of us a vocation through which we serve our neighbors and participate in God's work of sustaining creation.

Concerns about hopelessness, distrust of God, and denial of vocation are important, but we also need to ask whether it is possible for Christians to gamble without falling into sin. Can we say that those who gamble only for recreation demonstrate distrust for God? When gambling is used for entertainment, does it necessarily deny the goodness of vocation? May one who is trying to lead a godly life participate in gambling?

3. Denial of Stewardship
Greed and distrust of God are not the only concerns that gambling raises. Many people claim that they gamble for excitement and entertainment -- from the spectacle of a crowded casino to the thrill of watching a close finish in a horse race. But even when used as entertainment, gambling poses risks for Christians who are trying to lead godly lives. Perhaps foremost among these risks is that gambling can hinder us from being good stewards of what God has given us.

A. Stewardship of time
As stewards, we are accountable to God for all that we have been given, including our time. This does not mean that we have to work all the time; indeed God commands a sabbath rest, and blesses us with the gifts of laughter and play. But like any gifts, rest and entertainment can be abused and become inordinate. What first occupied a small part of our life, as one among many forms of recreation, can become an obsession. The hours we spend at this "entertainment" take us away from family and friends, from work and the life of faith. The former diversion now becomes the center of our life. Although any form of recreation can turn into an obsession, gambling seems particularly prone to this danger: small wins lead to hopes that a big payoff is just around the corner, with only one more quarter in the slot machine, one more hand of poker, or one more race at the track.

B. Stewardship of possessions
As we are accountable to God for our time, so we are also accountable for how we use our possessions. As good stewards, we have a duty not to squander what we have been given. Because few people gamble without losing, the risk of squandering money is always present. When the money that we spend on gambling interferes with our other financial obligations, and especially when gambling takes funds that we need to care for those who depend on us, we have failed to be good stewards.

4. Christian Freedom and the Vulnerable
Insofar as gambling is entangled with greed, hopelessness, selfishness and careless stewardship, it is an activity that is incompatible with the godly life. If our gambling can avoid these vices or "desires of the flesh" (Gal. 5), however, then gambling belongs within the broad area of Christian freedom. This analysis leads us to conclude, in the words of the 1984 ALC statement on gambling, that "there are no biblical or theological grounds for any absolute prohibition of gambling." Gambling is not intrinsically wrongful. It belongs to each Christian to decide whether he or she can, in good conscience and without self-deception, participate in gambling.

The fact that gambling is not intrinsically wrongful does not, however, mean that gambling is a matter of indifference. The Christian's freedom is quite different from the freedom that the modern world proclaims. Where others might assert their liberty to act in any way they see fit, so long as it is not prohibited, the Christian's freedom is always the freedom to be a good steward of God. In addition to the stewardship of our time and resources, we are also called to be stewards -- caretakers -- of one another. Cain's question to God is met with the Christian's response: we are our brothers' and sisters' keepers.

In 1 Corinthians, St. Paul instructs Christians on the proper meaning of Christian liberty: "take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak" (8:9). And again, "'All things are lawful,' but not all things are beneficial. 'All things are lawful,' but not all things build up" (10:23). At the very least, as Christians we should be concerned when we use our freedom in activities that impose great costs on others, especially on those who are vulnerable. In the next three sessions we will turn our attention to just those concerns.

For Discussion

1. An important theme of this session has been that gambling may lead people into sin, but one who gambles does not necessarily sin. While this view follows the 1984 ALC Statement, some believe that it "splits hairs" and gives insufficient attention to the dangers posed by gambling. If the risk of falling into sin is significant, and the harms caused by the sin are substantial, then why doesn't the church simply say that gambling is wrong? Is "Christian freedom" so important that we should take the risk of giving an unclear word about the moral dangers of gambling?
   
2. If gambling is not intrinsically wrong, then why not use it to bring about good consequences? In fact, can't one say that our whole economic system is based on the benefits achieved by mutual self-interest? People are more willing to part with their money when they have a chance of winning more, so shouldn't churches and other beneficial organizations use this tactic in fundraising?

   A 1993 ELCA Stewardship guide writes:

   Games of chance have no place in the life of a congregation. Congregations, like governmental entities, may see such games as a quick, easy means of raising funds. These games send adverse messages regarding the value of giving and financial stewardship. Games are based on the principle of receiving a high return for a low investment. Luck, instead of thankfulness, need, compassion or commitment, is the guiding principle.

   Do you agree? Are there other forms of church fundraising that hold similar dangers?

   1. Why should we be responsible for the voluntary decisions that others make? A thief takes money from people without their consent; but in gambling people participate voluntarily. While we may think it wrong to use our own money or time for gambling, why should we interfere with what other people want to do with their own money or time?

      In his Large Catechism, Luther gives an expansive interpretation to the seventh commandment, "You shall not steal." He writes:

      On one hand, we are forbidden to do our neighbor any injury or wrong in any way imaginable, whether by damaging, withholding, or interfering with his possessions and property. We are not even to consent to or permit such a thing, but are rather to avert and prevent it. On the other hand, we are commanded to promote and further our neighbor's interests, and when he suffers want we are to help, share, and lend to both friends and foes.

      Do you agree with Luther's account of our stewardship obligations for one another? How would this change the way that you "do business"? How might it affect your attitudes toward gambling?