There is no verse that says, “Thou shalt not shoot up heroine.” But the Bible is filled with principles which teach that our bodies are God's Temple and that whatever we put inside our bodies can honor God or dishonor Him. There is not a verse in the Bible that states gambling is wrong, but there are principles in Scripture which make gambling undeniably sinful. In this lesson we will examine several of those principles from God’s Word.
First, gambling contradicts God’s principle of honesty.
According to God’s Word, there’s a right way and a wrong way to get money.
Jeremiah 17:11
Gambling breaks the spirit of God’s command in Exodus 20:15, “Thou shalt not steal.”
In gambling, for every winner, there has to be a loser. It’s predicated on getting what another person has. In gambling, it’s one person attempting to get in another person’s wallet.
“A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked.” Psalm 37:16
Second, gambling contradicts God’s principle of love.
The Christian is to be governed by love for God and his neighbor. Matthew 22:36-40
Nothing could contradict the spirit of that command more than gambling. Gambling is pleasure and profit at the cost of another’s pain and loss.
1 Corinthians 10:24 teaches us to seek our neighbor’s profit, not our own.
We are to use our resources to help others, not take from others. (Ephesians 4:28, Galatians 6:10, 1 John 3:17)
Third, gambling contradicts God’s principle of work.
In the Bible, honest work and honest wages always go together. (Genesis 3:19, Luke 10:7, Exodus 20:9, Ecclesiastes 5:19, 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12, 2 Thessalonians 3:10)
Nowhere does the Bible support the idea of getting something monetarily for nothing. (Proverbs 13:11, Ephesians 4:28)
Fourth, gambling contradicts God’s principle of trust.
Christians are to look to God to meet their needs, not to Lady Luck. (Philippians 4:19, Proverbs 3:5-6)
Gambling strikes at the root of our belief in an all-wise God who provides for the needs of His people.
Fifth, gambling contradicts God’s principle of contentment.
(1 Timothy 6:6-11, Hebrews 13:5, Philippians 4:11)
The opposite of contentment is covetousness. Covetousness means you want something that’s not yours and that you did not earn. Gambling is a form of covetousness.
In gambling, the emphasis is on gaining material wealth.
“And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.”(Luke 12:15, cf. Proverbs 23:5, Colossians 3:1-2)
According to Proverbs 21:26, the wicked are always seeing what they can get, but the righteous are always looking for ways to give.
In Conclusion:
Statistics clearly show that... 1. Gambling is a curse that brings vice and crime.
2. Gambling undermines values, mocks work, finances crime, robs children, enslaves people, and poisons whatever it touches.