It's a part of life. We check out at the neighborhood store, and take our change in Lottery tickets. We play a friendly round of golf, with a few dollars on each hole. We join in the office basketball pool. It's harmless, diverting, or so we think.
Actually, gambling, state sanctioned or otherwise is big business, estimated to run in the billions of dollars annually. It is also destructive of the spirit, a tax upon those least able to pay, a blight upon communities and families, and an alternative religious system.
"As an act of faith and concern, Christians should abstain from gambling and should strive to minister to those victimized by the practice," according to the statement in the Social Principles. "Where gambling has become addictive, the church will encourage such individuals to receive therapeutic assistance so that the individual's energies may be redirected into positive and constructive ends. The church should promote standards and personal lifestyles that would make unnecessary and undesirable the resort to commercial gambling - including public lotteries - as a recreation, as an escape, or as a means of producing public revenue or funds for support of charities or government."
Gambling promotes the "something for nothing" myth that is so destructive in our society. We don't want to put any effort into getting ahead, but would rather just wait for our ship to come in. This removes the locus of control from our own power, and gives control to the hand of fate. We blame others for our problems and refuse to take responsibility for ourselves. Fate is a pagan concept; Christians endorse the idea of divine Providence, that God alone provides. This is superstition on the order of black cats and hats on the bed.
A certain percentage of gamblers become addicted, compulsive gamblers, losing their jobs, their families, as well as their money. No one knows if he or she is a potential compulsive gambler, so why start? Maybe you can control it, but maybe you can't. The compulsive gambler makes the same excuses as the alcoholic, "I can quit any time I want." Well, why don't you, then? Behavioral scientists tell us that gambling is a basic stimulus-response cycle, called a variable ratio schedule of reinforcement. That means sometimes you win, but mostly you lose. Those few times you win make you think you can win again. And so the pigeon pecks at the target, in the vain hope that somebody will feed him again. The odds favor the house, or they wouldn't be in business. You are eventually going to lose.
In the case of state sanctioned lotteries, we think, "at least it's going to a good cause." First, only 33% of lottery money comes back to the schools, a small fraction of education spending. Both legislators and the general public are thus fooled into thinking the schools have enough money, so State monies go elsewhere, and local levies are defeated. Administrative costs, overhead, and, strangely enough, compulsive gambling programs the Lottery itself has caused, come off the top!
And does a good cause justify the means? Do we sanction prostitution or sell drugs to raise money for the schools?
The poor are the most victimized by the lottery as those least able to afford it. It is a regressive tax, although voluntary, taking a higher percentage of their income. In our society, we are bombarded by messages that tell us we are good if we consume, and nothing if we don't. We are trained to keep up with the Joneses, whoever they are. Thus when the lottery jackpots entice us, it is more than money, but a chance at an affluent lifestyle, the admiration of our neighbors.
Studies have shown that for every dollar a community brings in through casino gambling, they must spend three dollars in increased social costs. Atlantic City, for example, has failed to realize the promise of casino gambling, sporting a thin facade of glitter in front of blighted neighborhoods.
Some years ago, the television series the Millionaire portrayed people who received a million dollars from an anonymous benefactor. As often as not, it destroyed them. As damaging as losing is, winning may be more so. The havoc that enters people's lives who win these jackpots is significant. Many run through the money in a few years and are left worse off than
they were before. Can we afford to gamble on our future as a society?
Suppose I would ask you to hand me ten dollars, on the premise that I might give you $100. Would that be a good deal? Or would that be foolish? Every day we give away our money in the hope that somebody will come and reward us for our stupidity. We think we're going to beat the odds; we're going to win big. Just how likely is that? And what price do we pay in the meantime?
Think about the damage gambling does to the moral and economic fabric of our society and decide if this is something you want to participate in at any level. Remember we are not only responsible for ourselves, but also for causing our brothers and sisters to stumble.
Pastor John