Gambling continued....

OBJECTIONS TO GAMBLING

Christians should avoid all forms of gambling, even to the innocent raffle ticket as the gains are quite unrelated to creative or merited effort; especially remembering that all gambling gains are made at the losses of others, many of whom cannot afford to lose. Always present too is the possibility of addiction, remembering that the majority of gamblers do lose. The odds of winning the national lottery jackpot is about 14 million to one, or, as someone has humorously remarked, one is more likely to see Elvis Presley landing on the Lochness monster in an unidentified flying object!

The gambling habit can not only bring unhappiness to the losers, but also to the winners. It has brought about marriage breakdowns, jealousy, family quarrels, theft, burglary, despair and even suicide. A survey showed the case of Mandy, a single mother with 2 children. She spent five pounds a week on gambling, and although she did not win anything, she feared giving it up in case the next week her numbers would have come up.

Winners too can find themselves in difficulties. Apart from the begging letters they can find themselves in a social 'no man's land' inasmuch that they move into another area and find it difficult to make friends. They may be regarded as newly-rich upstarts and ignored. Old friends also may keep at a distance lest they be regarded as wanting favours. These are but a few of the difficulties that gambling brings.

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