I’m relatively new to Christ, but this isn’t the first spiritual journey on which I’ve been. I was born a Christian, but I lost touch with God when I got into it with my family as young man. When I was in elementary and middle school, I was very lost. I didn’t like school, and I didn’t have any hobbies that I enjoyed. My parents were ambitious people, and highly critical and abusive. I became a shell of myself and lost my way.
I found God again recently, and it feels like a veil has been lifted from over my eyes. I can’t really understand what made me find Christ again, but I just broke down one day and accepted reality for what it was. I knew that what I was doing with my life wasn’t creating spiritual fulfillment and wouldn’t lead to me having the family and friends I wanted in the future. I turned to the universe and was given an answer.
Since I’ve become a believer once more, I’ve devoted a lot of thought to gambling. Why would I, a self-professed believer, be thinking about such things? Because I’m quite good at a gambling. Sports betting is my thing. I don’t win every time, but I know how to play the odds, and make about 10% on whatever I put in each week. So, I’m not an addict, I don’t sell people on gambling, and I’m good at it. Have I decided it’s a sin?
Yes, I have.
I didn’t make this decision on my own. The unfortunate thing about Gambling is that even though it is not explicitly mentioned in the bible as a sin, it causes people to commit sins by extension. This is mainly done though greed. Gambling allows you to win money by chance. When you win money, it feels like you have bypassed all the hard work normally required to earn it. This means that for a lot of people, gambling is a get rich quick scheme. Here’s what the bible says about get rich quick schemes.
Proverbs 13:11
“Wealth gained hastily will dwindle,
but whoever gathers little by little will increase it.”
This might seem counterintuitive at first, especially in this modern age where we have so many rich people, but when you look more closely it’s true. The wealthiest people on Earth are all men and women who are at least in their 40s, often in their 50s. They took their time to earn their money, and they get paid for real skills. Meanwhile, rappers, athletes, and other entertainers are always finding themselves broke once their careers are over. This is because they made the money too fast, and it was beyond what they could have earned for themselves naturally. As such, their money is cursed.
My form of gambling isn’t a get rich quick scheme. I play the probabilities and count on winning slightly more than what I lose. As such it’s not a get rich quick scheme, and even if I sold picks, it wouldn’t be a get rich quick scheme. The picks I make are based on statistics, and I’m not expecting them to be correct 100% of the time. That being said, I still won’t sell sports picks. I don’t want to feed into a system which takes advantage of other people’s desire to get rich quick.
Overall, I would just stay away from gambling. Money can be made fast, but in proper societies it should be banned. It destroys lives and breaks apart families when people overindulge. If you can avoid being a part of that system in any way, you’ll guarantee that your life will be free of those headaches. Live a clean life to reduce stress. Accept that gambling is a sin a keep away from it.
