Re: [TruthTalk] Judgment?

[Terry Clifton]

ShieldsFamily wrote: Terry, Getting rich by robbing the poor is condemned in the Bible.  Most of the folks you see tromping onto the boats are obviously down on their “luck”.  I know people who have ruined their lives with gambling. I also have friends who consider gambling to be an innocent entertainment activity, and they take a certain amount of money and don’t gamble away any more than that, and I don’t mind that they do.  However, I don’t consider it wise stewardship, and I don’t know of any serious Believers who waste their time or money that way.  I don’t like living in a state that gains tax money from casinos that take advantage of the poor and the compulsive gamblers.  It also promotes corruption—where there is big money there is always that danger.  So what’s your viewpoint? Do you think gambling is okay?  I think spending a buck on a lottery ticket or a raffle quilt passes as harmless entertainment; giving you a chance to daydream about winning if nothing else. And far be it from me to rob the old folks of their Bingo fun! But, like so many other grey areas, where do you draw the line? Izzy         You draw the line when your actions become SELFish.  (Most all sin seems to me to be about SELF.) I know that a man who spends the family food money to play poker is sinning.  Any bet would be a sin if you had lust in your heart for another persons possessions, but the sin would be lust, not gambling. I buy two lotto tickets almost every week.  If I ever win, I will use it to help orphan children in Nicaragua and the Philipines.  These are children that I have never met, but the Lord has given me a burden for them that we cannot begin to fulfill.  I know that the odds of winning are twenty million to one, but like you say, it allows me to dream.  I would not do it if it were illegal or if there was something wrong with it biblically, but I ignore preachers and misunderstanding Christians who condemn it.  As always, God looks at the heart, and I am comfortable with that arrangement. Terry