Featured Does what you do in Vegas really stay there?

People can in fact be smart about it. First step is to realize that even with the best case scenario, there is a 55% chance you are going to lose, and that's in a skill game where you really know what you are doing. If you're fine with that and have the disposable income to mess with it and are strong enough to not get addicted, I don't see what the problem is.

Personally I see TV as being as bad or worse. Doesn't matter what you're watching. The norm for people in this country is to pay over $100 a month to the cable company so they can watch advertisements for 5 hours a night. How is this not wasteful and morally wrong? Yet, people who do this will preach at people who occasionally gamble. It's pretty dumb.

As for addictions, you can get addicted on anything. You can go to McDonald's every day and be addicted to that salt and corn syrup, and you will pay a pretty penny for it. Yet, this is considered perfectly normal. Makes no sense.

 

Let's get back to what God's Word has to say about this whole topic:

"For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and have pierced themselves through with many sorrows." --- 1 Timothy 6:10

This is one of the most misquoted--and misunderstood--verses in the Bible.

It's misquoted because I've heard many people--both saved and unsaved people--tell me that it's MONEY that's the "root of all evil," but that's not what 1 Tim. 6:10 says.

That verse tells us that it's the love of money, not money per se. There's a big difference between having money and loving money.

Bible figures such as Abraham, Job, and Barnabas were quite wealthy men; IOW, they had money, but nowhere in the Bible do I read that they loved it. To the contrary they all seemed to be quite generous with their money.

So, it's not money itself that the Bible condemns, but it is "the love of it that the Bible condemns.

The other week our SS class covered Acts 4:31 - 5:11, in which the local church at Jerusalem (The "mother local church of all local churches") first death with how to finance the challenges and needs of this ever-increasing "mega-church" whose members were facing the confiscation of their property and goods by the local religious and political powers that be because they just wouldn't stop telling everybody they encountered about God's salvation through His resurrected Son, Jesus Christ--the one that these religious and political tyrants had just got through crucifying just a couple months ago.

[OBSERVATION: If I were to be hauled before the Supreme Court to answer the charge of telling every person how to be saved, would there be enough evidence on my part to convict me of this "crime"?]

Knowing that the members of the local church at Jerusalem were about to be faced with having everything they owned but the clothes on their backs, they did the only reasonable thing they could do--sell all their lands and worldly possessions, and do the best they could to survive their soon-coming persecution, which, BTW, seemed to be headed up by the Pharisee named Saul of Tarsus.

Since this "mega-church" we call the local church at Jerusalem had within its 5,000+ membership roles many poor people who, even after selling all their worldly goods, still had very little on which to survive this persecution, didn't want to see a large percentage of her membership living under the dire possibility of near starvation, they called upon her members to create a "love offering fund" from which the church's leadership would see to it that her brothers and sisters in Christ wouldn't starve to death.

It's here where we first read of not only wealthy members being very generous in their voluntary love offerings to this fund, but also of a married couple who were so beholden with the love of money that they lied about their giving.

The cast of characters was the wealthy Barnabas who was led by the HS to donate the proceeds of his selling his property to do probably more than fund his per cent of the relief fund.

Then, on the other side were Ananias & Sapphira. They too sold a possession that they had, but, unlike Barnabas, they were so filled with "The love of money" that they had conspired among themselves to secretly keep back some of the proceeds of the sale of their possession but lied about this evil deed.

Finally, we have Peter, who along with John, seemed to have been something like Moses and Aaron in Exodus--they were both leaders in defying the Satan-inspired opposition against the plans of the HS.

Peter, who at least in this incident, was God the Holy Spirit's spokesman to the audience when Ananias, followed later on with his wife and co-conspirator Sapphira, saw through their hypocrisy and, in Acts 5:5 we see what happened to this hypocrite, and in Acts 5:7-10, what happened to his wife.

That's a classic example of how God views one's "Love of Money ."

Kinda makes me glad that I wasn't a member of that local "mega-church" at Jerusalem when it comes to my often-times giving a "love offering." :tear::tear:

 

I guess the copout is to bring up other things like over eating or eating the wrong things or watching tv or a hundred other things to white wash the sin that is being committed by certain people. People that don't want to hear the truth will say you are judging, or you don't show enough love. Christians are supposed to be a separated people from the world. Come ye out from among them and be ye separate sayeth the Lord. I have seen first hand what the bottle will do to a family. I have seen first hand what gambling will do to a family. It seems like that some Christians want the same recreations as the world has. If the worlds dress code is immoral say's some, then I want the same. If the world over eats and eats the wrong things then I will take my fill too. If the world gambles then I will cast my lot's too. If the world gets drunk then I want my bottle too. We should be asking ourselves, what can we do to stand out as a Christian that the world might see a difference in us compared to themselves. But instead we our asking ourselves what can we do to be more like the world. No wonder the question was ask in the bible, when Christ cometh shall he find faith on the earth., Luke 18:8

 

Salzer- Two Questions:
1. Can you provide Scripture naming gambling as sin?
2. Do you consider investing to be sin, due to the financial risk?

Excepting investments and business ventures, I have gambled for money once in my lifetime. I do not see the point of playing against bad odds. Do I think that it is sin? No. I think that it is stupid. My opinion only.

 

I've seen auto accidents destroy a family. Do you drive?

I've seen Internet addiction destroy familes, why are you here?

I've seen addiction to prescriptions destroy families, do you partake when prescribed by your doctor?

What I see as a copout is someone who can't provide scripture to back up their stance.

 

Come on Matt.....try to have some level of sensitivity to another's opinion would you please. With that said, I agree with you that you cant legislate the activities of one person by your own opinions & experiences....not without scripture to back up their stance.

Salzer, I have some empathy for your thought process....God knows I myself have seen to many bad things happen when people drink alcohol , but I have also seen people who can control their drinking & actually enjoy a drink occasionally. From my prospective brother, you appear to have an all or nothing at all attitude which I find too judgmental. I also fight that far too often in this board & out in the world....but we are called to balance that with mercy & love....sometimes tough love.....so, what does the lord require of us. 1. Act justly; 2. Love mercy; 3. Walk humbly with the Lord. I gotta keep reminding myself of that daily.

So relax Brother..... Our God is firmly in control.

Bless you! :jesus:

 

The word Usury is mentioned several times in the bible and the definition of usury is the lending of money with an interest charge for it's use. This was forbidden in scripture. Psa 15:1 and 15:5 Lord who shall abide in they tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill ? 15:5 He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. Usury is putting your money up against a sure thing for profit and this was against scripture, so then gambling is putting your money up against a not for sure thing so how could this not be sin. Also in scripture it say's not to take reward against the innocent. When a person with a family gambles and losses, more than one person suffers the lose. His family, the innocent are victimized by this sin someone has taken reward against the innocent. They do without and then that person that gambled and lost has denied the faith and is worse than a infidel because he didn't provide for his own house hold, 1 Tim 5:8

 

In Prov 28:8 He that by usury or unjust gain increaseth his substance, he shall gather it for him that will pity the poor. Here again we see the word usury linked with gambling. Gambling is a unjust gain. Men might become rich by these two things but there riches will fly away. Someone down the line that will inherit there riches by God's good providence will use this gain that will pity the poor.

 

Everybody abuses this passage. It was talking about taking widows in so they wouldn't be a burden on the church. Wasn't talking about anybody or anything else.

Interestingly enough, you were NOT supposed to take them in unless the widow:

1. has no children or nephews
2. is desolate
3. trusts in God
4. prays all the time
5. is not living in pleasure
6. is over 60 years old
7. has had only one husband
8. has raised children
9. has lodged strangers
10. has washed the saints' feet
11. has relieved the afflicted
12. has diligently followed every good work


What this has to do with gambling, I'm not sure.

 

in the midst of scripture pertaining to widows the scripture declares in verse eight of 1 tim five a man of the house is under obligation to take care of those widows in his own house hold that are directly related to him. But getting back to gambling, if the man of the house has squandered his living on riotous living he will fall into the category of verse eight of 1 Tim 5.

 

Salzer- What you are describing is predatory lending, which I doubt most here would seriously consider moral.

I would point out to you Matthew 25:14-30, and the rebuke of the servant who hid his talent: "Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest." -Mat. 25:27

There is nothing Wrong with investing. It is wise and prudent.