If you have driven through the Kanawha Valley lately you would have seen a number of campaign signs with the exhortation to vote YES. The voting these signs are campaigning for is the passing of a new bill to allow table gambling within the Kanawha County.
Those that would have you vote YES, turn your attention to the money that we would have if this bill does pass. Supporters of the bill, boast of the new jobs that will be added to the area. Where once the Kanawha Valley was known for its great chemical industry, now the numbers that work at such factories are few. Good jobs are needed.
With Kanawha Valley being the largest metro area in our state, many from Lincoln, Putnam and Boone have lost good jobs to the outsourcing of these jobs to overseas manufacturing hubs over the last fifteen years. Globalization has been brutal to factory workers as the greed of companies causes outsourcing to grow.
We all must take some blame for this globalization change. When we buy a product, do we not want it for the best price? Wal-Mart’s low prices come with a ticket labeled: “Made in China”. In order to have those low prices, companies must find workers willing to work for a mere fraction of what we work for. Companies are forced to look overseas to keep shoppers happy with these prices and have them buy at their stores by having products made overseas. Therefore the greed of our own wants helps drive the outsourcing as much as the decision by the corporate executive.
It is easy to see why those in favor of gambling would want one to focus on money. Jobs are needed right? With jobs, comes money. We all want and need more money. You have a chance to win big money if you gamble. No one is forced to play. “Even if you do not play, you still win”, is their call to action. They focus on money, for it is our greed they can count on. With this focus, we forget the lives of families.
One would think that supporters of the gambling bill would place past winners on TV to prove their claim of the grandeur found when gaming comes to town. Those that know the history of the WV Lottery would also remember why this is not done. As it turns out, gambling hurts children.
One real reason for this growing greed in our society is how we now view the word progress. In years gone by, progress referred to the change within that matter or the subject, but now it almost always refers to time. To see this better we need only look at John Bunyan’s book “Pilgrims Progress” which meant a journey and a king’s “progress” once meant royal procession or parade along a road. Today, progress or progressive and their opposites, “reactionary” “passé” and “old fashioned” are more likely to refer to advances in time rather then the subject matter.
What this means is we no longer try to work on changing the problems found in our self, but the focus in progression is having the latest, the greatest, faster than the yesterday toy. To have the new and improved we must have more money to buy the new and improved and the rat race is on.
Now is the time for us to look once again to progression within our personal being as Bunyan did years ago. We need to work on our anger control, before getting a new gadget with remote control. Our kids need to know the meaning of NO, before they get a new X-Box or Play Station. Personal growth must once again be placed above personal wealth. We need to revisit, “it is more blessed to give than to receive” for it is clear we have forgotten this truth.
It is abundantly clear why those that wish voters to vote YES to gambling want voters to focus on money. They see in all of us the greed to have more. Is there anything we can say no to? Surely, we cannot say no to the chance for more money. Surely the promise of more jobs, make the yes vote right.
Will these few jobs help our families?
Traditionally churches have opposed gambling. But why do churches take such a stand? What is wrong with gambling anyway?
While the Scripture does not specifically address the subject of gambling, it provides us with a number of principles that can guide us on this issue. The Bible does not say, “You shall not gamble,” or “gambling is wrong,” but it does teach us that while we might be free to do many things, all things are not profitable and we should never be brought under the control or power of anything other than the reign of Christ in our lives (see 1 Cor. 10:23; 6:12).
Gambling, like many things in life, can become addictive. Further, it becomes a means of getting rich quick or of seeking fortune apart from constructive labor or work that is truly beneficial to society. God has given each of us abilities and with training we can become productive members of society and of the body of Christ. Gambling seeks to bypass this process.
Below is part of an article by Kirby Anderson with Probe Ministries at www.probe.org that directly addresses this issue and is an excellent summary. You can find other articles on this at their site as well.
Even though the Bible does not directly address gambling, we can derive a number of principles from Scripture.
First, gambling breeds a form of covetousness. The Tenth Commandment admonishes us not to covet. Coveting, greed, and selfishness are the base emotions that entice us to gamble. I believe Christians should be concerned about gambling if for no other reason than the effect it has on the weaker brother and how it will affect the compulsive gambler. State-sponsored gambling makes it harder for the compulsive gambler to reform. Legalized gambling becomes an institutionalized form of greed.
Second, gambling destroys the work ethic. Two key biblical passages deal with the work ethic. In Colossians 3:23-24, the Apostle Paul says, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” And in 2 Thessalonians 3:7,10, he says, “For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. . . . For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: If a man will not work, he shall not eat.”
The Twentieth Century Fund research group commented, “Gambling’s get-rich-quick appeal appears to mock capitalism’s core values: disciplined work habits, thrift, prudence, adherence to routine, and the relationship between effort and reward.” These core values of the work ethic are all part of the free enterprise system and are part of the Christian life. Gambling corrupts these values and replaces them with greed and selfishness. Rather than depending upon hard work, gamblers depend instead upon luck and chance.
Third, gambling destroys families. Gambling is a major cause of family neglect. Many of the social costs associated with gambling come from its mindset. As people get caught up in a gambling frenzy, they begin to neglect their families. Money spent on lottery tickets or at horse tracks is frequently not risk capital but is income that should be spent on family needs. In 1 Timothy 5:8, Paul says that a person who refuses to care for his family is worse than an infidel. Parents must provide for their children (2 Corinthians 12:14) and eat the bread of their labors (2 Thessalonians 3:12). When gambling is legalized it tempts people to neglect their God-mandated responsibility to care for their families, and these families often end up on welfare.
Fourth, gambling is a form of state-sponsored greed. We read in Romans 13 that government is to be a minister of God. Government should provide order in society and promote public virtue. Legalized gambling undercuts government’s role and subverts the moral fabric of society through greed and selfishness promoted by a state-sponsored vice.
Gambling is bad social policy; it is bad economic policy; and it is bad governmental policy. Moreover, it undermines the moral foundations of society and invites corruption in government. As Christians, I believe we must stand against society’s attempts to legalize gambling.