What does the Bible say about Casino Gambling?
by Douglas Warren
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s a pastor I do not speak to political issues. I believe the Bible instructs me as a minister of the gospel to speak God’s truth authoritatively. Where the Scriptures speak, I must clearly articulate what it says. Where the Scriptures are silent, I must not venture a voice. The gospel must be the central focus of my mission for it is the central theme of the whole Bible.
Nothing else may be allowed to hold captive the church’s voice. Her ministers must never be the pawns of politics, culture, or other agendas. This is no exception. I am not going to tell you how to vote. I will tell you what the Bible teaches concerning this important issue. Scripture speaks with authority as to what God would have us do with our lives. We must take His Word with its due weight. This is the framework from which I am speaking to you.
Distinguishing between black, white, and gray
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ne of the difficulties we have in even beginning to speak about gambling is the unfortunate failure of the church in our country to correctly distinguish between issues of moral certainty and issues of prudence. The church must only declare those behaviors as sinful that the Scriptures themselves declare so, or she undermines her credibility to speak to any and all behavior.
We need to know the difference between black and white. We also need to recognize that the Bible does contain a sizeable area of life that is gray. To confuse black and gray can be just as wrong as justifying black as white. Classifying drinking, smoking, and gambling as wrong with the same authority as say murder, gossiping, or lying is neither true to Scripture nor honoring to Christ. Unfortunately we have often crossed the line and clouded these issues rather than provide the clear gospel truth that the world so desperately needs.
Scripture does not say that gambling per se is wrong. It is not necessarily a sin for you to buy a lottery ticket, but it might be. Gambling is behavior like smoking or drinking that is potentially dangerous and therefore can be foolish in many situations. This is not saying that the Bible advocates moral relativism.
The Bible differentiates between moral and prudence issues. Morality addresses sin and righteousness (black/white), whereas prudence speaks to foolishness and wisdom (gray). This distinction requires a great deal of discernment. It is a whole lot easier to simply outlaw the gray, but that is not a biblical approach. In fact, Jesus had nothing good to say about those who imposed their convictions about foolish behavior on others as moral absolutes. To blur the line to either side is a rejection of God’s holiness.
To further complicate things, these areas overlap. Foolishness can and often is sinful, but when and how does it become so. I believe that gambling is a gray area. We need help learning how to think biblically about gambling and other similar issues without resorting to a misguided legalism.
We must exercise discernment in the gray areas.
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o if gambling is not necessarily sinful, how are we to evaluate what to do about casino gambling? The Bible is NOT neutral about gambling. While there are not any passages that deal with it explicitly, there are many places that indicate such behavior is foolish. Gambling promises the possibility of wealth apart from work and the Bible warns about acquiring things without productive labor.[1] It can very easily feed our natural tendencies for greed and covetousness.
As with many other gray-area behaviors, we must evaluate the morality of gambling according to motivations, obligations, and ramifications. First of all, what are my motivations in gambling? Am I hoping to strike it rich? Am I avoiding my responsibilities? Second, what are my obligations? Am I gambling with the milk money? Can I afford this loss? (Let’s face it, in almost any gambling prospect; you have a huge chance of losing.) Third, what are the ramifications of this behavior? How will this negatively or positively affect those around me?
Working through these questions can be difficult, especially since it is not always easy for us to be honest even with ourselves. While it is certainly easier for us to avoid the issue all together by not gambling, we must be careful not to allow that to creep into a moral judgment on others who have worked through these issues and come to a different conclusion. We must also face the reality that it might be sin for me to gamble, but might not be sin for you to gamble.
Crossing the Line from Gray to Black
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ambling is also something that very easily leads many into a compulsive and destructive pattern. Scripture is very clear that we “cannot serve two masters”.[2] When you are enslaved to any behavior, you are not being controlled by the Holy Spirit and you necessarily encounter all the difficulties stated above because you are no longer able to discern your behavior carefully. While occasional gambling may or may not be sinful, compulsive gambling is always sinful.
The Scripture specifically addresses life issues that are initially gray, but that become a matter of black and white because of our enslavement to them. We must maintain biblical liberty in all things. Paul says, “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything.”[3]
How should the State of Maine handle issues that slide from gray to black?
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he question before us as a collective population is not simply is it okay for me as an individual to gamble, but rather, should the state allow the establishment of a particular gambling institution. This adds additional biblical concerns. What is the role of the state as ordained by God? Does the establishment of institutional gambling meet those responsibilities?
The primary role of the state is to uphold righteousness.[4] God has ordained the governments of men to serve His purposes in promoting justice. Where governments do rightly in serving this purpose they are ordinarily blessed. Where they neglect this duty, they are judged. The God of justice will not be mocked.[5]
Would permitting the creation of a resort casino promote justice? As we have seen above individual participation in gambling may or may not be right, but there is inevitable enslavement of some that will result. The casino advocates themselves admit this and build in a provision for helping compulsive gamblers. This at very least ought to give Christians pause. Is the state fulfilling its God given role of promoting justice through administrating service to help those adversely affected by gambling? What should its role be in permitting, licensing, or regulating it?
Conclusion
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hese are very important issues that must be thought and worked through with great care and discernment. We must treat gray issues as they are and not confuse them with black and white absolutes. When they become black and white issues, we must adjust our treatment of them accordingly. As I have outlined above personal involvement when done with careful consideration of our motivations, obligations, and ramifications may or may not be permissible. Corporate establishment or permission for a resort casino raises a great many biblical concerns.
We in the church are admonished to think biblically about both morality and prudence issues. We are to be “wise as serpents and innocent as doves.”[6] We must exercise caution and restraint in our personal habits and we must help the oppressed. Think through this issue carefully and biblically and vote your conscience. May God bless us as His Church to follow His leading in all things.
Please feel free to contact me with your questions regarding this matter