LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1998, Page 344

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

⤓ Download .txt · copy text

344

THEOLOGICAL DOCUMENTS

themselves are charged with lobbying legislative assemblies to “de-stig-
matize” the practice.

The gambling industry's efforts to broaden its appeal are, no doubt,
contributing to its growing, public acceptance. Extravagantly designed
casinos are being advertised as family vacation centers. Many offer low-
cost rooms and meals, theme-park entertainment and free day care. “The
name of the game ... is who gets the walk-in,” one casino/hotel owner
explains, boasting that his establishment has the “better mousetrap.”"!

In light of the current situation, what are we as Christians on the basis
of biblical teaching to say about gambling? In the paragraphs that follow
we wish to offer a response to this question, which hopefully will be use-
ful to pastors, congregations, and others called upon to provide guidance
in this area. We recognize that the Holy Scriptures do not specifically
address gambling,”? but this does not mean that they are silent about vari-
ous issues that arise in connection with this topic. God's Word has much to
say to those who are gambling (or who are thinking about engaging in this
practice) and to those involved in its promotion. It is our purpose in the
discussion below to review these concerns in light of scriptural texts perti-
nent to the issue. The first section addresses concerns related to gambling
as a moral issue. The second section provides brief counsel regarding a
proper theological approach to the question.

“ Hirshey, 43.

" While no biblical text refers specifically to gambling, the practice was present in the
ancient world. “Dice with numbers on four sides have been found in Egypt dating thou
Sands of years before Christ. In the ruins of Pompeii, gaming tables have been discovered.
Tacitus, the Roman historian who lived about A.D. 100, noted that gambling was very com-

aichanee” akin to the modern practice of gambling. By casting stones on the ground oF
drawing them from a receptacle, the lot was used for such choices as appointing tribal lands
(hum 56:58); choosing a king (1 Sam. 10:20-21); choosing sacrificial animals on the Day of
‘Atonement (Lev. 16:7-10); choosing courses of temple services for priests, singers, and gate-
keepers (1 Chron. 245; 25:8; 26:13); and for the appointment of Matthias as apostle (Acts
1.20) The soldiers also cast lots for the garments of Jesus (Mark 15:24). See F.D. Gealy-
“Lots,” in Interpreter’ Dictionary of the Bible, vol. 3 (New York: Abingdon Press, 1962), 163-64
ara W. Dommershausen, ‘3, in Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, vol. 2, ed. G.
Johannes Botterweek and Helmer Ringgren and trans. John T. Willis (Grand Rapids: Eerd-
sears, 1975), 50-56. In fact, in some references the casting of lots is described as a divinely
sanctioned means of ascertaining God’s will. in Joshua 18:6, 8, Joshua cast lots “before the
Loxp our God” to apportion land for seven tribes of Israel. At Proverbs 16:33 we are express
Ty told, “the kot (73) is cast into the lap, but the decision is wholly from the Loa.”

5

2 Gambling promotes the mismanagement of possessions
entrusted to us by God.

The power either for good or for ill resides in the use of our posses-
sions. Our possessions and money are very important in this life, for they
allow us to allocate economic goods for the well-being of our neighbor and
for the preservation of our own life. Our money serves as a means to defer
personal consumption for morally praiseworthy ends: caring, for family,
friends, the community, the nation, the needy in our midst, etc.'° Its irre-
sponsible management can also cause harm in the lives of others. At the
same time, money or goods (which might otherwise be given to our neigh-
bor) can serve as a means to enable us with a good conscience to care for
our own person and to do so in ways that are equally praiseworthy. But
again, because of our sinful nature, the danger always lurks that we will
manage our possessions and money purely out of self-interest.

Aconsistent scriptural theme is that the use of our possessions and the
means to obtain them are subjects of God’s concern and come under His
call for accountability. Our use of what God has entrusted to us is not “dis-
cretionary” in the sense that we are free to do with His gifts as we please.
In the parable of the rich man in Luke 12, it is the rich man’s claim—repeat-
edly affirmed—that what he has received belongs only to him to use as he
pleases that places him in jeopardy. He must indeed learn the provisional
character of human possessions, and that to lay them up “for himself”
means that he is not rich toward God (Luke 12:21).

To be “rich toward God” in God's economy is no mere abstraction, but
does in fact involve the use of God’s entrusted gifts for purposes pleasing
to Him. In the strictest sense, God wills that we manage what He has given
to us in ways that both glorify Him and serve our neighbor.'” Both tables
of the Law, summarized by Jesus, have application here: “You shall love
the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all
your mind ... You shall love your neighbor as yourself’ (Matt. 22:37, 39).

It is precisely at this point that the potential for abuse lies so close at
hand among those who gamble. To care for one’s family and for those who
are in need, especially in modern economies, requires fiscal responsibility.
Gambling’s ostensible purpose is financial enrichment, and yet it almost
always leads to financial loss.'* That loss almost always impinges directly
and in harmfu! ways on the well-being of those whom God calls us to care
for and to love.

“Gee David A. Krueger, “Play money.” Christian Century (November 11, 1992), 1022.

"The story of the Rich Man and Lazarus in Luke 16 indicates that the rich man’s refusal
to share the good things he has received in this life with the poor man Lazarus is an element
in the reversal that takes place as a result of God's judgment.

Curt Suplee of the Washington Past has pointed out that “statistically you are seven
times more likely to be hit by lightning than to become a millionaire in state lotteries.“ Quot-
edn Joe Atkins, “The States’ Bad Bet,” Christianity Today (November 25, 1991), 21.

7

A Biblical Perspective
Moral Concerns about Gambling

1. Gambling encourages the sins of greed and covetousness.

The New Testament contains repeated warnings against “all active
striving for the increase of material possessions as a means of security,” as
if the meaning of life is to be found in the acquisition of money.’ In
response to someone requesting a ruling on an inheritance, Jesus stated
pointedly: “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a
man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (Luke
12:15 NIV). At its root the sin of greed is idolatry (Rom. 1:23-25; Col. 3:5),
and since it is so crassly egocentric it is predictably destructive of human
relationships, and it is deserving of God's judgment (Rom. 1:29). Just as
tragically, the desire to be rich is potentially destructive of one’s very own
person (physically, as well as spiritually) (1 Tim. 6:9-10).

When grasping for what belongs to one’s neighbor becomes the focus,
the ninth and tenth commandments of the decalogue apply: “You shall not
covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or
his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs
to your neighbor.”"*

Since gambling by its very definition is the betting or staking of some-
thing of value for the hope of gain, and because it is often a focused desire
to obtain wealth for its own sake," the potential for sin and spiritual harm
to oneself and to others is present. Christians may disagree about the rela-
tive danger of one form of gambling over against another (and finally each
will have to examine his or her own heart in the matter), but gambling by
its very nature exposes the one who engages in it to the sins of greed and
covetousness. Its consequences dare never be underestimated.

“Gerhard Delling, “seouterns,” in Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, vol 6,
ed. Gerhard Friedrich, trans. and ed. G. W. Bromiley (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1968), 271

'6y wther's Small Catechism with Explanation (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House,
1986), 11.

Martin Franzmann wrote, “It is ultimately not a question of how much a man seeks
to have-—Jesus is not imposing a ‘rule of Bowerty, ‘upon his disciples—but how deeply aman
is concerned about having.” Follow Me: Discipleship According to St. Matthew (St Louis: Con-
cordia Publishing House, 1961; Concordia Heritage series reprint, 1982), 57.

6

Proponents of gambling sometimes defend the practice by pointing,
out that since there are many areas in life that involve elements of risk (e.g.,
business ventures, investments, farming), gambling cannot be condemned
without also passing judgment on all risk-taking ventures. To be sure,
there are elements of “risk” involved in all human decision-making, for it
is not possible fully to possess in advance the wisdom of hindsight. How-
ever, our Creator has provided us with the gift of reason and the knowl-
edge, despite our limited vision, to make decisions based on the given pat-
terns of His created order. It is precisely because of this limited vision that
we are repeatedly urged to place our trust in the Lord, who provides for
those who look to Him (Ps. 145:15-16) and in everything “works for good
with those who love him” (Rom. 8:28). Gambling involves taking risks of a
different sort, for the focus is entirely on beating the odds. In games of
chance it is not possible—however skillful one may have become in
“improving” the odds—to make a reasonable choice based on what we
know about the way in which God provides for His creatures. It is there-
fore also extremely difficult, by the very nature of the case, to make the
responsible decisions required of one who seeks to be a faithful manager of

this life’s goods.

3. Gambling undermines absolute reliance on God
for His provision.

Opponents of gambling often argue that the practice appeals especial-
ly to the nonaffluent members of our society. They point to the studies that
indicate that gambling appeals to the poor among us who end up wager-
ing a greater percentage of their incomes.’? Gambling’s appeal, it is
observed, is based on the illusory promise and the desperate hope of a big
win, for it seems to offer the only “real” hope for many to better their lives.
Less able to sustain loss, the poor thus bear the heaviest burden.

While we may agree that gambling, however voluntary, victimizes
the poor, this does not mean that the temptations that lead to abuse are
peculiar to them. The same “gnawing dissatisfaction” with the “current level
of provision” given by God ‘dwells in the hearts of rich and poor alike.”

° Atkins cites a New Jersey study which found that more than one-third of families
with incomes of less than $10,000 spend one-fifth of their incomes on lotteries. He also points
to a study of the Maryland lottery that showed that people earning less than $10,000 annu-
ally buy more tickets than any other income group (21).

® See David Neff and Thomas Giles, “Feeding the Monster Called ‘Move,’ ~ Christian
ty Today (Nov. 25, 1991), 19. Martin Franzmann writes: “Things can master not only the man
who is intent upon living well but also the man desperately concerned about living at al”
(Franzmann, Follow Me, 57).