I had wondered myself about the lottery and gambling being taught for a long time that it was a sin. I then decided to research the bible on the topic and really could not find anything on it. There are things circling around the issue, but nothing specific. Where in the bible does it talk about gambling?
Those of us who know Christ, know in our hearts that it is wrong. However, we can't always explain why. We just know it is wrong. Although, some people will say it is good.
People will argue that the lottery is good because it brings in money for education. Without the lottery, our educational system would suffer.
Why does anyone gamble or play the lottery? For some it is because a love of money. However, this is not true for everyone. For some, they play because they have a need, and they hope the lottery will be the answer.
Here is where the core evil of the lottery really comes. It is a false sense of hope that recieves it's gain from people who are in need. The lottery is a false god where people earn rewards not because of love, but just because it happened by chance. The false God of luck. (Think about that the next time you say, "Good luck.")
The lottery provides a false sense of hope. A person who is poor has a desperate need of money. These people are poor physically. They want relief from the pain of suffering that comes from being poor. They are hungry and need to be satisfied. They suffer from going without. For people who love money, no amout will ever be enough. And so, they play the lottery in hopes that one day, their needs will be met.
People who are lovers of money have a deep desire for money. These are poor spiritually. They are hungry and need to be satisfied. For people who love money, no amout will ever be enough. They always want more and more. And so, they play the lottery in hopes that they will have more. Ultimately, the want to be filled and satisfied. But money cannot fill the longing we have to love and be loved.
Of course, money will not bring us the answer we need to the deep longing we have. We may be hungry, but our true hunger comes from not having God. Let's say we do have God and we play the lottery in hopes of winning. Well, then we are putting our hope into a false God. Rather than depending on Christ completely and totally, we are depending on the God of luck. We want to be luckly, rather than Christian.
Our hope should always be Christ. Despite all the trials, difficulties and hardships we experience on earth, we should always put our hope in Christ who will one day return and transform us into a glorious state while also making the world anew.
The second evil of the lottery is the fact that it feeds on the needy. It takes from people who have need. As said above, people who have money, don't play the lottery. Instead, they invest. As a society, if we were to love these people in need, they would not play the lottery. If we would willingly give to them, then why would they play the lottery? However, they play because they have a need. And so, it really abuses the poor in order to make one person wealthy.
If I was to win the lottery, I would feel terrible. I would think about all those people who were poor and paid money to buy tickets. I am basically taking money from the needy.
Now, you might say, "But what if I were to donate that money to charity?" Then all you are doing is taking money from people who need charity to turn around and give it to others as an act of charity. What good is that? The money you donated is going to go right back to the people who originally bought the tickets. This doesn't help anyone but yourself. All you are doing in such a process is giving yourself glory. You did not actually make any sort of true sacrifice, any act of love. Instead, you won a bunch of money that you did nothing to obtain, you earned this money by the abuse of people's hope, and then in turn you are going to give the money away just to make yourself feel like a good and honorable person.
(Since the above words are a bit harsh, I wish to clarify that when I say "you" I am not speaking of anyone specific. The "you" is general and could represent anyone, including myself.)
I hope this helps,
In love,
Blake
PS....
Indeed, the bible was written by human beings. However, if the bible had lost translation, then it was never God inspired to begin with. To say the bible has lost translation is to say that God has not been active on earth since the bible was written. That is nonsense. God is alive and active in people's lives. He has preserved the bible. The only problem, is not that the bible has lost translation, but that humans beings have fallen farther and farther away from truth. We do not have the capacity to understand unless we have God to help us.
