May 29 Unlucky Luck

May 29

Unlucky Luck

Ec 5:10 He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied

with silver; nor he that loveth abundance

with increase: this is also vanity.

Colorful lights flashed on and off. Musical tones sounded from every direction.  Electronic beeps seemed to come from everywhere and above all that cacophony of sound was the unmistakable clatter of a cascade of quarters pouring out of a one armed bandit and piling up in the metal tray where winnings were dropped. Another gambler had been “lucky” and scored a windfall.  

Now if you are a “Gambling Man” you might want to skip the rest of this devotional. If you are among the multitude of Christians who see nothing wrong with gambling, or perhaps I should say gaming, what I have to say might offend you. (But that is not my intent!)

If you are old enough, you might remember when Christians did not gamble, did not drink wine with their meals, did not replace the choir with a rock band in church services, and otherwise avoided activities which used to be considered “worldly”. Rather than looking at all these old fashioned ideas let’s just focus on gambling. Many Christians see nothing wrong with having some harmless fun in a casino. So is gambling a bad thing just because some Christians said so a hundred years ago? 

Many of my Christian friends have told me about their “fun” times in a casino so I thought I would look into the Biblical teachings on gambling to see if I have been missing out on some harmless fun. 

First we should look at the language used in gambling. Can a Christian be “lucky”? Those who advertise casino gambling want people to think they will get lucky and win a lot of money. And it is possible that some people will win large amounts, but it has nothing to do with luck. Casinos know exactly how much the payout will be for each dollar they collect. It is well known that slot machines are set to pay a certain percentage of what they take in. It is all mathematics and there is no luck involved. The casino is not gambling, their patrons are. But that doesn’t answer the question, can a Christian be lucky? James 4:13-16 seems to caution against boasting about being lucky.

Jas 4:13 Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow

we will go into such a city, and continue there a year,

and buy and sell, and get gain:

Jas 4:16 But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil. 

The second misconception regarding casinos is that the casino pays off the big jackpots. Not true. The money that is paid out for winnings comes from the pockets of the people who lose money. The casino knows exactly how much it will profit from each dollar wagered. They use the losing gamblers money to pay off jackpots. The winners leave with money in their pockets that came from the empty pockets of the sad losers. But that is why it is called gambling. The Casino wants you to think they paid you the jackpot. But in reality it is money someone else lost. Casinos like to pay out jackpots. That is what keeps people gambling and trying to be "lucky".

The real question is what else does the Bible have to say about gambling?

There are many references in the Bible to casting lots. But that was not gambling with dice. Casting lots was used to make decisions. In the book of Joshua they cast lots to see which tribe got which land. Sort of like drawing straws. Even the disciples cast lots to determine who should replace Judas, after Christ was raised and ascended.

Ac 1:26 And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

And that is the last time you hear anything about Matthias! Now they were not gambling but used lots to decide between two people. (Acts 1:23) But did they get in a hurry? In Acts 1:8 Christ seemed to indicate they should wait until the Holy Spirit came upon them, and then they would be witnesses and better able to select a replacement for Judas. But that study is for another time. The point that needs to be made is casting lots was not gambling and it was not to win a pot of money.

The next question is does the Bible discuss gambling, good or bad, anywhere? Not exactly, but there are lots of related verses that get to the core reason for gambling, and that is to win some money.

Most people who tell me about going to a casino are either excited because they won money or disappointed because they lost money. When a man complained to Jesus that his brother was not sharing an inheritance with him Christ responded this way;

Lu 12:15 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.

Then we also find this comment about covetousness;

1Ti 6:10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

And this one that says to be content and not dream of riches.

Heb 13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness;

and be content with such things as ye have:

Even Isaiah prophesied that one armed bandits would take quarters.

Isa 56:11 Yea, they are greedy dogs which can

never have enough, …they all look to their own way,

every one for his gain, from his quarter.

(OK OK..I know that isn’t what the verse is talking about. It was just a joke!)

But covetousness is no joke. It is condemned over and over in lists of really bad things such as murder, lying, adultery, fornication, and a laundry list of evils. (see Eph 5:5; Col 3:5; Rom 1:29)  

     Yes, I am aware that Christians have told me they don’t go there because they are covetous and want to win a lot of money. They just play a roll of quarters or some small amount and then leave. They just enjoy the experience. They like the atmosphere.

     Now I could be wrong, because I have only walked through a casino to get somewhere else, but I did not enjoy the atmosphere. The covetousness, bad language, immodesty, and the bar atmosphere reminded me of a verse in Colossians.

Col 3:8 ¶ But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.

As for me, I won’t be wasting what God has blessed me with in a casino, nor will I find the atmosphere to my liking. What I will be doing is asking God to help me not judge Christians who do enjoy gambling and casino life. For our meditation today let us consider what the Bible teaches us about how we, as blood bought sinners should live.  Before I get busy on my long list of Biblical shortcomings I will leave you with one last verse for your consideration.

Ps 119:36 Incline my heart unto

thy testimonies,

and not to covetousness.

May 28 Things Change

May 28

    Things Change

Ps 102:27 But thou art the same,

and thy years shall have no end. 

Suddenly the car left the busy expressway, crashed through the fence, curved several times across empty fields and headed straight for the Mississippi River. The driver never slowed down. This was no accident. It was being done intentionally in spite of the repeated warnings he was receiving. 

No news agency reported this event. I know because I was the driver.  The GPS startled me for a few seconds until I realized there was a new expressway leading to a new bridge near St Louis. But my GPS did not know the highway had changed and it warned me I should turn around. It also showed I was curving across empty fields and headed for the Mississippi River where there was no bridge. But the GPS was wrong. The roads had changed.

We live in a world of change. The bank we have used for years suddenly has a new name and new policies. The brand of car we grew up with is no longer being manufactured. The telephone that used to hang on the wall or sit on our desk is now in our pocket and will soon be on our wrist. We drive through our old familiar neighborhood and see new drugstores where old landmarks used to be. Advertisers no longer explain the features of an item, they just tell us “This is the new big thing” and people line up for days to be the first ones to own it. Change happens so fast it is nearly impossible to keep up.

But relax. Catch your breathe. There are things that do not change. Let’s look at some of the unchanging things that we can use as an anchor for our minds and souls.

Our meditation verse for today is found in both the old and new testaments. If it was important enough to repeat we should take special note of it.

 

Ps 102:27 But thou art the same,

 and thy years shall have no end.

 

Heb 1:12 but thou art the same,

and thy years shall not fail.

God does not change. Since He does not change that includes his many attributes. If you want to dig deeper into that idea I suggest you purchase a copy of Stephen Charnock’s two volume “The Existence and Attributes of God”. Charnock makes the logical case that all of God’s attributes are immutable (changeless). God’s knowledge, power, wisdom, love, etc. cannot change, because God does not change. Let us try to wrap our finite heads around such an infinite concept. Ouch! My head hurts already.

Ro 11:33 ¶ O the depth of the riches both

of the wisdom and knowledge of God!

how unsearchable are his judgments,

and his ways past finding out!  

Teens in our youth group used to ask me why God felt so far away at times. My standard question was “Who moved?”  At other times they would ask me why they had trouble determining God’s will for their lives. My simple explanation “God will reveal His will, but he won’t walk back to the alley to talk with you”  was clearly understood. No one asked me to explain what I meant. God does not change. We do.

Isa 59:2 But your iniquities have

separated between you and your God,...

Another thing that does not change is the Word of God.

Ps 119:89 For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.

Isa 40:8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

1Pe 1:25 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever….

You probably noticed every one of the verses above has the words for ever.  Men have tried over the ages to destroy it. The Bible still stands and those who opposed it are dead! Skeptics such as Voltaire, Gibbon, Ingersoll, and many others spent their lives denouncing Christ and the Bible. Few people know who these men were. They are like the old illustration of the blacksmith’s anvil. The remains of broken and worn hammers littered the floor around the anvil, but even though they had beat upon it fiercely, the anvil remained and the hammers were broken.

Men who want to change the words of the Bible produce products that are popular for a few years and then like a blazing fire die down to smoldering coals. While some Bible versions are scholarly attempts at providing updated words and phrases, too often they are the product of a profit driven publishing house, which copyrights it so they get all the money from their version. The NIV is owned by Zondervan and for 15-20 years had a corner on the market. Today the latest and greatest version is the ESV (English Standard Version). The ESV was written by Crossway publishers. They own that Bible. I still remember the Amplified Bible, The Living Bible, the Readers Digest Bible, the Berkley version, and on and on. Few people would use these “outdated” versions.

In spite of man’s best effort to confuse, destroy or deny the Word or commercialize it for profit the Word of God is still unchanged and will still be when publishing houses are torn down and replaced by drug stores.

Some other things that never change.

 Our sinful nature.

Ro 3:23 For all have sinned,

and come short of the glory of God;

Our need to recognize that Christ is the only way to God.

Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him,

I am the way, the truth, and the life:

 no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Our assurance that Christ has made us acceptable to God.

Eph 1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace,

wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

For our meditation today let us think about all that will never change.

Jas 1:7 Every good gift and every perfect gift

is from above, and cometh down from

the Father of lights,

with whom is no variableness,

neither shadow of turning.