Key verse: Matthew 27:35 And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots.

1 Timothy 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.

As some never tire of pointing out, the words "gamble" and "gambling" do not appear in the Bible. The nearest reference was to casting lots, or dice. In the Old Testament, and on one occasion in the New Testament (Acts 1:26, in using the lots to select Matthias to replace Judas), casting lots was used as a means of determining God's choice in a situation, such as dividing up the land of Canaan among the tribes, or determining a guilty party. That's how Jonah was identified as the cause of the great storm when he went in a ship to escape God's call. It was not gambling, because nothing was ventured that could be lost. It was a means of making a choice, in the belief that God would direct it.

There are only four occasions in the Old Testament when the reference was clearly something bad, what we would characterize as gambling. One was the quotation from Psalms 22:18 fulfilled when the soldiers gambled for Christ's robe before the cross. The other three had to do with invaders dividing up their human spoil in the fall of Jerusalem (Joel 3:3, Obadiah 1:11, and Nahum 3:10) Supporters of the notion of gambling would say that "recreational" gambling is simply entertainment, and not forbidden anywhere in the Bible.

In answer, let's look at the motivations for gambling. There are three basic ones: greed, the hope for reward without work; pleasure, gratifying the desires of the flesh; and pride, the idea that we are better than others because we won and they lost. Now, certainly no one would disagree that someone who wagers huge sums of money in an obsessive desire to get rich is committing sin, especially someone driven by a compulsion that is like a sickness. What about someone who buys the occasional lottery ticket? The ultimate desire is the sin; to somehow get lucky and win the big prize, or at least a much larger amount than the cost of the ticket. To protest that it is only harmless entertainment is to deceive oneself and others.

What about bingo, more often than not played in a church basement, or a raffle for a worthy cause? What possible harm could there be in that? People who want to make a small donation to a worthy cause, like a church project or a charity, can easily do so without playing a game. There are often two motives involved in such cases; one is the desire to find pleasure in the thrill or anticipation of the game, the other the pride that comes from winning, of being the "luckiest" or "most skilful". Entertainment is not inherently wrong, but as Christians we should do more than just seek pleasure; we should look for leisure that honors God. The soldiers before the cross were looking for pleasure, too, and for a small amount of gain. When we win at gambling, someone else always loses; we gain at someone else's expense. When we take pride in winning, someone else must deal with the shame and disappointment, however small, of losing. The whole foundation of gambling is lust, the desire to please the flesh by gaining something for nothing. If we win, our loss comes back to us in our winnings. Who can draw a line and say, "Up to this point, gambling is just entertainment"? It's like trying to say a little sin, like stealing a pencil, is not really a sin. God makes no such distinctions. If we must play cards or bingo, let's do it without money. God's people, though, should look for other ways to derive pleasure from life.