Is Gambling A Sin? What’s God’s Take?

When you understand the Bible, you will understand God’s ways and His will.  Many people ask, “Is gambling a sin before God?”  That’s an excellent question.  Those who are in business, and especially those entreprenaurial types that have built their own, will understand that to make money you have to spend money.  To open a restaurant you need to spend money to rent or buy a place.  You then have to build out the restaurant facility with a good kitchen, comfortable eating area, and probably want to promote the new restaurant buy purchasing some advertising to get the word out.  Then the most expensive part to opening this new restaurant in the developed world is hiring the people to work at the restaurant. Is this gambling?  Business people would call this investing.

What is the difference between gambling and investing?  To many they both seem like risk, and indeed they are.  However the definition is very different, Gambling is to play a game of chances for stakes.  It’s risking money or anything of value on the outcome of something involving chance.  Investing is not reliant on chance.  “To invest is to put money to use, by purchase or expenditure, in something offering profitable returns”.

Gambling is playing games of chance.  The Bible has many instances of people gambling.  Many times to make a decision.  In the Bible, we hear about “the casting of lots”.  It was much like the present day rolling of dice.  Jesus had nice things.  The Roman soldiers wanted to keep His clothes in one piece so at the foot of the cross, they cast lots to decide who would get his clothes

So what about going to a horse bicycle or boat race, and placing a wager?  What about playing the lotto, pachinko, or bingo or other games of chance?  What about going to Las Vegas, Monte Carlo, or Macao on a gambling trip?

The Biblical perspective on gambling is this. Everything that we have belongs to God according to Psalm 24:1.  Our resources are His resources He has entrusted to us.  Jesus makes it clear that God wants us to invest our resources in the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30.  The guys who doubled the masters money, we rewarded more.  The guy who only returned what he was given, with no increase, was rejected.  Do you really want to waste what God has given you and be rejected?

Believers are not to be wasting money on games of chance.  That’s what the prodigal son did in Luke 15: 11-32 when he was out of fellowship with his family.  We are supposed to be wise with our money and invest it by faith and good sense.  There is nothing stopping a follower of Jesus from being a huge financial success.

Is gambling a sin?  Not exactly, but it can become an addiction to some people just like alcohol, tobacco  and other drugs.  That addiction can become sin. However, gambling is just not being wise with the resources that God has given you. Gambling is silly when it’s so much better to sow your tithes into the fantastic church you fellowship at Sundays or the various Spirit-filled, strong faith ministries that are helping others.  Those are the places you can expect what Jesus promises us in Matthew 13:8, that 30, 60, and 100 fold return on what we are giving.  We’ll take 100 fold return on what we give over a horse race any day!

Do you have a relationship with God?  Find out here.  Need wisdom on where to sow your financial seed, the Holy Spirit can help.  Get the baptism now,