Saturday – Open Topic

Reading – Ecclesiastes 5:8-20

Highlight Verse:

“Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness!”
‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭5‬:‭10‬ ‭NLT‬‬

It’s between Friday the 13th and Saint Patrick’s Day – between an unlucky day and a lucky one.

The 11% of Irish blood in me wants to celebrate the luck o’ the Irish.

I could even make a (very weak) case for luck by referring to the Urim and Thummin from the Old Testament.

But the idea of luck ignores the providence of God.

Worse, the Bible warns us against what we usually seek luck for – wealth.

I must confess, I sometimes enter contests for million-dollar homes or nice cars. I’ve even been known to buy the occasional lottery ticket.

Is that wrong?

Maybe.

It certainly isn’t wise.

Sometimes they are drawings that go to support good causes.

But if I want to support those causes, I could just donate and they wouldn’t have to share the proceeds with companies that run the drawings.

Sometimes I try to rationalize it with visions of supporting many ministries with the winnings.

But if I spend too much time dwelling on the possibility of winning, that can be considered idolatry.

To my credit, I don’t spend much time thinking about winning. I often forget to check for winning tickets for weeks or more. The realist in me knows the odds are far against me.

The biggest problem with gambling is that some people get sucked into obsession with winning.

Gambling addiction can be just as strong as drug or alcohol addiction.

While it has not been a temptation for me, I want to set a good example.

So, here’s my challenge of the day, if even one of you messages me or comments with a commitment to not gamble any money (through lotteries, gaming, etc), I will make the same commitment with you for however long you want.

If you have recovered from a gambling addiction, how did you do it?
If you are in the midst of such an addiction, will you be brave enough to put it behind you?