Gambling: The Hidden Power That Destroys Lives

I played Rook, Authors, Old Maid and Crazy 8s.as a boy, but not the "devil's deck": of 54 cards in 4 suits.

• Why? My Dad was sure those pasteboards would ensnare me. He was right.

• At first I played penny-ante poker with my friends, later for higher stakes with others.

• When I lost a week's pay in Acey-Deucy, I said "no more" and have stuck to that.

Later I saw a relative lose his house on the day of his daughter's wedding, and noticed two of my gambling friends remove permanently for what they owed the mob.

Soldiers casting dice for Jesus' clothes SOURCEhttps://thepreachersword.com/2014/01/10/its-friday-but-sundays-coming-near-the-cross-but-far-from-christ-2/

They gambled at the foot of the Cross.

While Jesus Christ hung bleeding for the sins of the world, Roman soldiers knelt in the dust beneath Him, shaking dice, laughing, and winning His only earthly possession — His garment.

Spurgeon once said this scene reveals the darkest truth about the human heart:

men will choose chance over Christ, even when Christ is right before their eyes.

Sin blinds the heart until trifles seem more valuable than the Savior.

Is it any different today?

Gambling has exploded in America. Sportsbooks, online betting, casinos, scratch-offs, fantasy leagues, crypto speculation—never in history has risk-taking been so accessible, so normalized, and so aggressively marketed.

And never has it ruined more lives.

The Bible does not mention “gambling” by name, but it speaks loudly to its heart: the desire for gain without labor, the illusion of luck, the bondage of greed, and the destruction that follows.

1. Gambling Promises Quick Riches—The Bible Warns Against It

“He that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent.” — Proverbs 28:20“Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished.” — Proverbs 13:11

Gambling is the attempt to gain what God normally gives through:

• work

• stewardship

• wisdom

• patience

• faithfulness

• 
  

It is anti-providence, hoping for chance instead of trusting in God.

2. Gambling Preys on Human Weakness

Sports betting doesn’t create winners—it creates addicts.

It preys on:

• loneliness

• boredom

• financial stress

• broken hope

• adrenaline

• the fantasy of control

  
  

The system is not neutral. It is engineered to enslave the vulnerable.

And Scripture is crystal clear:

“All things are lawful… but I will not be brought under the power of any.” — 1 Corinthians 6:12

Gambling is a power.A spiritual force.A destroyer of homes.

3. The Spiritual Damage Is Worse Than the Financial Damage

A gambler loses more than money.

He loses:

• confidence

• peace

• self-control

• integrity

• trust with family

• trust with God

  
  

Gambling rewrites the heart:

• instead of faith → superstition

• instead of trust → anxiety

• instead of gratitude → craving

• instead of patience → desperation

  
  

Jesus warned:

“Take heed… for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.” — Luke 12:15

Gambling teaches the opposite.

4. The Theology of Chance vs. The Providence of God

The biggest lie behind gambling is luck.

The Bible denies it entirely.

There is no luck. Only God’s providence.

“The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD.” — Proverbs 16:33

God rules outcomes—not casinos, not algorithms, not dice, not odds makers.

To believe otherwise is to build a worldview in opposition to the sovereignty of Christ.

5. A Christian Response

✓ 1. Reject the fantasy

There is no such thing as “easy money.”

✓ 2. Guard your heart

Gambling begins in desire, not dollars.

✓ 3. Teach your children early

Explain why self-control is freedom and greed is bondage.

✓ 4. Help those trapped

Many Christians secretly struggle.Grace, not shame, brings deliverance.

✓ 5. Trust God—not odds, not chances, not luck

A Christian’s confidence is not in risk but in relationship with the living God.

6. Christ Is Better Than Chance

Gambling offers:

• illusion

• adrenaline

• escape

• 
  

Jesus offers:

• truth

• peace

• hope

• freedom

• 
  

No jackpot compares with the joy of knowing the Lord.

“The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and He addeth no sorrow with it.” — Proverbs 10:22

Prayer

Lord Jesus, deliver Your people from the bondage of gambling. Heal those who have been wounded by its lies. Restore what has been lost, and teach us to put our trust not in luck but in Your sovereign care. Give us wisdom, discipline, and a heart satisfied in You alone. Amen.

******************************

High in the heav’ns, eter­nal God,

Thy good­ness in full glo­ry shines;

Thy truth shall break through ev­ery cloud

That veils and dark­ens Thy de­signs.

Forever firm Thy jus­tice stands,

As mount­ains their foun­da­tions keep;

Wise are the wond­ers of Thy hands;

Thy judg­ments are a migh­ty deep.

Thy pro­vi­dence is kind and large,

Both man and beast Thy boun­ty share;

The whole cre­ation is Thy charge,

But saints are Thy pe­cul­iar care.

My God! how ex­cel­lent Thy grace;

Whence all our hope and com­fort springs!

The sons of Ad­am in dis­tress

Fly to the sha­dow of Thy wings.

From the pro­vi­sions of Thy house

We shall be fed with sweet re­past;

There mer­cy like a riv­er flows,

And brings sal­va­tion to our taste.

Life like a fount­ain, rich and free,

Springs from the pre­sence of my Lord;

And in Thy light our souls shall see

The glo­ries pro­mised in Thy Word.

--Words: Is­aac Watts, The Psalms of Da­vid 1719.