In gambling, winning depends on others’ failing and losing money.

Jesus’ command to love our neighbors as ourselves (Matthew 22:39) precludes believers from participating in activities in which they hope for the failure of others. As Proverbs 13:11 states, “Wealth gained hastily will dwindle.” Given this biblical wisdom, it’s not surprising that 90 percent of lottery winners are broke within five years. The blessings of windfall wealth can be fleeting. When governments give implicit approval to the practice of seeking quick, easy riches, they violate the Scriptures. But governments are supposed to give “approval” to those who “do what is good,” not to activities that encourage citizens to make poor moral choices (Romans 13:3-4). It’s bad enough when private citizens promote “get rich quick” schemes. We should reject government initiatives that promote a distorted view of God’s moral order. While God does not mechanically bless those who work, His general mode of operating is to withhold personal and communal prosperity from those who rely on hopes of “getting rich quick,” like gambling. The New Testament likewise denounces those who seek financial gain without work (2 Thessalonians 3:10). Proverbs 13:4 says that a “sluggard craves and gets nothing.” In contrast, “the diligent is richly supplied.” A lazy man seeks the fruit of diligence, but his yearning is never strong enough to motivate honest labor. God honors hard work over “get rich quick” schemes. You might be surprised to discover the following principles in God’s Word: (Or my search may not be representative of all the Christian materials available.) Nevertheless, it’s easy to get the impression that the Bible says little to guide us on the issue of gambling.

Those other issues may be more pressing than gambling. The disparity of resources may be justified. A survey of websites devoted to approaching public policy from a Christian perspective likewise turns up a relatively small amount of material on gambling compared with the flood of resources applying the Bible to marriage, homosexuality, human exploitation, and abortion. For example, Wayne Grudem’s 600-page book on “politics according to the Bible” has only a page and a half devoted to gambling-and those pages don’t have a single specific Scripture reference. When the issue of gambling arises, debate can become a battle of conflicting statistics without the Bible coming up much.

Whatdoes bible say bout gambling