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by Rev. Andrew JJ Paton
I took comfort in the median age of the gamblers. They were over 55. I began to rationalize that they were not there for the money. I figured they were lonely and needed the company. Many were widows taking advantage of the low cost bus trip that offers a day’s visit to the casinos.
My eyebrows raised at people trying to play a few machines at a time. Frantic feeding of coins continued for as long as I watched.
It takes little brainpower. Most gamblers have to lose more money than they win. If that average shifted the other way the place would go out of business.
The state benefits too.
A politician quipped that "Gambling is taxation on people who don’t know math."
So most of those dear elderly folks were going home a little, or in some cases a lot poorer. To continue putting this in the best light we may suggest that it doesn’t do much harm because they are at the other end of their earthly lives. They’ve earned their savings and if they wish to put money at risk it’s their business. So I nursed the impression that gambling in NJ was a pastime of senior citizens.
That was shattered by the report released last month. The majority age of gamblers is down in the 20s and 30s.
No, Atlantic City isn’t attracting a younger set. This rise in young gamers is being done at home via the Internet. It’s becoming a multi million-dollar industry and it’s very addictive. When times get hard money wagering oddly increases.
Why is it so attractive?
Investigations say its not the prospect of gaining more money – not directly so. Internet gambling has proved it’s not the pull of company. It’s not even the need to be under the bright lights. It’s the thrill of danger that gets you in the end. A matter of Adrenaline. The threat of losing helps the gambler cross the line into unsafe habits.
Do people lead such dull lives that they need an external stimulus like a lucky number?
Lets see what’s wrong with wagering your hard-earned bucks. There’s a good reason why the church preaches against it. Jesus said we are each given resources which we must multiply by wise use. Not just money. Talents, relationships, influence and time are all held in stewardship.
Like the sign in the waiting room of the IRS that says "try not to think of it as your money" we ask you to see what’s your as entrusted to you by your Creator. When you think of money as just on loan to you by God to provide for your family, do good to those in need around you and further His love message to the world you are dissuaded from taking it to the card table.
God has given honest labor as the method by which He expects you to multiply wealth.
The first attraction of Gambling is greed for money. To this the Bible says: "Keep your lives free from the love of money." Another pull is the fear of poverty. How strange because gambling has itself reduced so many to the poor house.
Hear a verse that says "We say with confidence the Lord is my helper;
I will not be afraid" Very soon, however, pride in your own cunning and the thrill of the "edge" conspire to undo you.
You cannot serve God and money! Awake. Refocus your financial picture.
A Salvation Army General concluded that Gambling violates the 4-fold duty of humanity:
a. It’s a sin against God since it misuses my substance and my brains
b. It’s a sin against myself because it changes me into a selfish grasper
c. It’s a sin against my neighbor because for me to win many of them must lose and
d. it’s a sin against society because it undermines the healthy work ethic |