Healing from Gambling
For Jack, a video poker
machine
was the answer to all of his money problems. He would sit in
front
of the machine for hours, every chance he could get, pouring in money,
sometimes $120 a day.
He said, "It was the thought of easy money. It is probably hard
for a lot of people to understand but it is the constant thought
that the next game might be the one." It was this thought that
kept
Jack coming back. Soon checks started bouncing and Jack's life
was
thrown into a nightmare, but he continued to play. He said, "you
get in so deep, it is hard to get out. I just kept hoping I'd hit
it big." But he never did. When reality came crashing in,
Jack
was more than $14,000.00 in debt. He says, "I'll be paying for
this
the rest of my life.
Gambling is
seductive
Proponents want you to believe that it really does profit the
communities.
But the only people it profits are crooked politicians and the gambling
industry. Did you know that Americans gamble more money each year
than they spend on groceries? Casinos have a profit margin of
somewhere
between 85 and 95 percent.
Gambling fuels
materialism
Gambling's strongest appeal is to the inordinate materialism that
drives
some peoples lives. First Timothy 6:9 states that people
who
want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish
and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. Focus on
the first part of the verse, "people who want to get rich" refers
to people who are DRIVEN to get rich, who are obsessed with having
more.
The publication, American Demographics, reported on a survey of
people who gamble in casinos. It stated that "winning money is
the
most important reason why people say they visit a casino."
(May, 1997, p.37) The Casino de Montreal in Quebec has
discovered that more people will play the slot machines if the grand
prize
is a car. They are consumed with an irrational desire to have
that
beautiful car. Sometimes these kinds of people will gamble
away everything they have and everything they can get their hands on
for
one more change to get something of material value.
Materialism is nothing less than idolatry. It is placing
money
and the things money can buy before God. There is a story
about
one hundred decoys being place on Izu island in Japan to attract
endangered albatrosses and encourage them to breed. For more than
2 years, a 5 year-old albatross named Deko tried to get a wooden
albatross
to be his mate by building fancy nests and fighting off rivals. He
spent
his days faithfully by her side. A researcher said of Deko, "He
seems
to have no desire to date real birds." So it is with people
who put their affections upon the little god of materialism rather than
upon the God of the Universe.
The Bible gives the antidote to materialism in 1 Timothy 6:6-7,
that
"Godliness with contentment is a great gain. For we brought
nothing
into this world, and we can take nothing out of it."
Gambling contributes
to crime This is not a fiction, but a fact. When
gambling was legalized in New Jersey, crime more than tripled from 1976
to 1989. William Webster, former FBI director, said, "I don't really
see
how one can expect to run legalized gambling anywhere without serious
problems.
Gambling is still the largest source of revenue for organized
crime."
In a recent study on the effects of gambling reveals that "except for
murder,
every major crime tracked by the FBI goes up dramatically within four
years
of a casino's arrival in a community. Rape, robbery, aggravated
assault,
burglary, larceny and auto theft have all increased at an alarming
rate.
Nationally, crime rates are 8% higher in counties blessed with casino
gambling."
Gambling exploits
people. Gambling is an anonymous form of wealth
redistribution;
There is no money to win except what other people have lost.
Whatever
someone wins through gambling is won at the cost of someone else's
loss,
perhaps, even the loss of a child's milk or shoes. People may
say
that they do not gamble in order to take what someone else has,
but
it is only by other people losing that some people win. Perhaps
the
greatest tragedy is that those who gamble are often trying to get the
money
that belonged to those who could least afford to lose it. It is
an
established fact that the poorest people in society are the most likely
to gamble. A study in California showed that 4 out of 10 lottery
players were unemployed. The Des Moines Registrar
reported
that lottery ticket sales surge when welfare checks arrive. One of the
most scandalous features of the gambling industry, engaged in by many
of
our state governments, is the vigorous promotion of gambling among the
poor, less educated and senior adult populations. It prays on
others
by peddling a false hope.
Gambling undermines the
work ethic. Gambling's doctrine is simple: luck is a
better
way to make it in this world than hard work and investment.
Gambling
says if you want a new car, if you want a better home, if you want an
exotic
vacation, betting is better than working. Getting rich
quick,
getting ahead without sacrifice is the underlying propaganda of the
gambling
industry. But this flies in the face of God's intent for
humans.
Exodus 20:9 says, "Six days you shall labor and do all your
work."
And Ephesians 4:28 states, "He who is stealing must steal no
longer,
BUT MUST WORK, DOING SOMETHING USEFUL WITH HIS OWN HANDS."
Work is good. It can add to our dignity and self worth.
Gambling ruins
lives.
The overwhelming evidence from the National Gambling Impact Study
Commission
demonstrates a direct link between problem gambling and divorce, child
abuse, domestic violence, bankruptcy and suicide. More than
15 million people in this country meet the technical
criteria
of a gambling problem. Lest you think what I'm talking
about
happens to people you don't know, think again. There was a friend
of my father-in-law who owned a successful body shop in our home
town. He started dabbling at gambling. He started going to Las
Vegas.
he became addicted. His company started downhill. He incurred
horrendous
debts. His family disintegrated. He eventually went to a mobile
home
he had on some property, turned on the gas, and blew the mobile home up
with himself inside. One of the members of the study commission,
James Dobson, writes that gambling "is especially dangerous to
the
young, who are enticed by exciting and risky behaviors. 85% of
our
young people are already gambling on everything from card games to
sports
teams to casinos and lotteries. Worse, more than 15% have been shown to
be problem gamblers."
The gambling industry knows that if you can make
it appealing to the young you've got clientele for life. The
folks
in Las Vegas are no dummies. Why else would they try and turn the
casinos into family places. Is it because they love
families?
Hardly! They love the money families will spend. The Bible says
in
1 Timothy 6:10, "For the love of money is the
root
of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from
the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs."
The price of Gambling is steep. Jesus asked, "For
what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world and lose
his own soul? (Mt.15:26)
What can you do if you
have a problem with gambling? You can't make any
progress until you admit it. Tell someone. Get help.
Many churches have self-help groups for addicts of all kinds.
Check out the sources between.
Gambling is a symptom of
a deeper spiritual problem. Check out How
to Get to Heaven From wherever you are... on this
website.
If you are concerned about
the social problems of gambling, contact your representatives and
express
your convictions about this evil in the land.
Sources for help:
The National Council on Problem Gambling,www.ncpgambling.org
Phone: 800-522-4700
Gamblers Anonymous,
www.gamblersanonymous.org Phone: 213-386-8789
Gam-Anon, Box 570157, Whitestone,
NY. 11357; Phone 718-352-1571