Side Bars – R.L. Dabney on Secular Conservatives – Rethinking Public Schools – The Bible and Private Property – The Bible and Possession Laws – Deuteronomy 4:5-9 – Lord Acton Quote – The Bible and Gambling – Closing Exhortation – Our Obligations – The Purpose of Civil Government

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The Bible and Gambling
Gambling appears to fly in the face of various Scriptural precepts. The Bible tells us that diligence is God's normal secondary means by which men are to acquire wealth, but gamblers seek wealth quickly through games of chance (Prov. 28:19-22).

Wealth obtained through labor endures, but wealth obtained by means such as gambling is transitory (Prov. 13:11). The Bible warns against quickly obtaining wealth (Prov. 20:21) but quick acquisition of large sums of money is the primary motivation for gambling. While God may well grant us material blessings (which we should be thankful for and enjoy), we are specifically told not to seek to be rich (Prov. 23:4) and to be content with what God has provided by means of our labor (1 Tim. 6:6-11).

Gambling leaves in its wake a diversion of funds from righteous financial transactions to corrupt uses, an increase of crime and corruption, a group of men who are "addicted" (dominated by their sinful actions - see Gen. 4:7 and Rom. 6:12) and a growing number of broken families.

The hypocrisy of our state and federal magistrates attacking demon tobacco and yet promoting the far more morally deadly gambling, feeding as it does greed and envy, is monumental. How about some liability lawsuits against the Oregon Lottery Commission? We are in the unenviable position of having our civil government actually tempt men and women to engage in the specific actions the Scriptures quoted above (and many more) clearly condemn.

This voters' guide produced by Parents Education Association, PAC.