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Introduction:
On January 20, Tennessee initiated a state lottery. On its
website you will find the following: “Across
the Volunteer State, players are ready to win and support
education with the Tennessee Lottery.” “Everybody
wins with the Tennessee Lottery … especially students and
families.”
But you will also find this interesting statement: “The
purpose of the Tennessee Lottery is to raise funds for
scholarships for Tennessee students. While the lottery is designed
to be an affordable form of entertainment, we ask that players
enjoy the games responsibly. With responsible play, everybody
wins.”
That is the mantra today. “The lottery is for a good
cause. As long as people play responsibly, it is a great form of
entertainment.” That is already society’s view. More and more,
it is becoming the “Christian” view. We must not allow the
world’s view to become ours by default. Rather, we must
carefully study the scriptures and allow them to equip us for
every good work (II
Timothy 3:16-17).
I know the very dangerous ground upon which I am walking.
Amazingly enough, issues surrounding activities like the lottery
have become a hotbed for heated discussions and even division.
Some have already come to conclusions that they have decided no
amount of Bible discussion will change. There are some who are so
convinced that the lottery is wrong that even if I produced a
verse that literally said, “Thou shalt play the Tennessee
Lottery,” it would not faze them a bit. On the other hand, there
are some who have become so convinced that the lottery is harmless
that even if I produced a verse that literally said, “Thou shalt
not play the Tennessee Lottery,” they would not be fazed either.
My only desire in this lesson is to open our hearts and minds to
the life-changing power of the scriptures.
What kind of people are we Christians supposed to be? What
should we do with the lottery? Discussion: I.
What is the lottery? A.
The Tennessee government wants to provide college
scholarships for its residents. However, they do not have enough
money. Their first thought is, “We can raise taxes. The people
of Tennessee will go for that. We can tell them it is for a good
cause and folks will pay the increased taxes without complaint.”
Then one lawmaker calls the rest to reality and says, “Don’t
count on it.” How many of us would have voted yes for a tax
increase for scholarships? Of course, they could do fundraisers
like the schools do and sell cookies or stationary. The overhead
is way too high. It would take too much work to make the necessary
money. They could just ask for donations. No doubt some wealthy
Tennesseans, who have soft spots in their heart for needy high
school seniors, would donate some. But the ability to sustain the
scholarship program over the long haul with free will gifts is
probably not there. B.
What is the answer? “We will entice the Tennessee
populace to give us money with the chance to win large sums of
money.” Where will they get the money to pay the winners? They
will get it from everyone who plays. Of course, they will skim
money off the top for overhead and for the scholarship program,
but the rest of our neighboring Tennesseans’ money is ours, if
we win. C.
If you think about it, whoever came up with the lottery is
a genius. He knew full well that Tennesseans did not want to part
with their money, even for such a good cause as college
scholarships. Therefore, he could not just tax us or ask us for
donations. But, if he offered us the opportunity to win big, we
would collectively part with $41.3 million in the first week. What
makes the lottery work? Does it work because scratch-off games are
so entertaining? Does it work because players are concerned about
education? No, it works because people want money. As “vince jr”
(a screen name) wrote to lotterypost.com, “Players want to be
winners.” D.
That is what is the lottery is—a game that feeds on our
desire to win big money. What does the Bible say about such a
thing? II.
What does the Bible say about the lottery? A.
Despite using my computer Bible software to search through
12 different English translations of the Bible, I have not found
one passage that uses the word “lottery.” While some people
stop there and say, “See, we need to speak where the Bible
speaks and be silent where the Bible is silent,” I am not
willing to stop there. The Bible never uses the word
“lottery,” but it does speak about the system we have
described. B.
Read I Corinthians 13:4-7. This is the love we are
to have for all men. Jesus even said we are to have this love for
our enemies (Matthew 5:44). Love, Paul said, does not seek
its own. The lottery is a system whereby that is exactly what we
do—we seek our own. I want my fellow Tennesseans to put their
money in the pot so I can have it. No doubt, I may have visions of
generosity sprees with my winnings, but that dream of generosity
seems somewhat weak considering the fact that I have to take money
from millions of Tennesseans before I will be generous to any of
them. When we put our money down on the gas station counter and
ask for the lottery ticket, what are we seeking? Our own. We are
not loving anyone but ourselves. C.
Read I Timothy 6:6-10. Can anyone honestly read this
passage and come away from it saying that Christians can play the
lottery? The whole system works on a cycle of discontent, love for
money and a desire to be rich. All three of these characteristics
are condemned by this one passage. The real problem here is that
we tend to think in degrees. “As long as I don’t really,
really desire to be rich and really, really love money, then I do
not violate this passage.” But that is not what is said.
Brethren, let’s be honest. When I buy a lottery ticket, what do
I want? I want to win big money. I want to be made rich in an
instant. I am feeding my love for money. Someone will say, “But
Edwin, we work to make money and look for promotions to make more
money, how is that different?” If in your desire to provide for
your family (I Timothy 5:8), to serve others (I Peter
4:10) or pursue your heart’s desire (Ecclesiastes 11:9-10)
God blesses you with physical wealth, then more power to you.
Remember, however, what Paul further said in I Timothy 6:17-19.
But if you are working because you love money or desire to be
rich, then you, like the lottery player, have violated this
passage. D.
Read Ephesians 5:3-7. Could there be more powerful
teaching against playing the lottery than this passage? Twice this
passage condemns covetousness, claiming it is idolatry. Those who
covet have no inheritance God’s kingdom. It concludes by warning
us not to let people deceive us with empty words into thinking we
are allowed a little covetousness. If we do, God’s wrath will
come upon us. Paul did not say if our covetousness becomes
idolatrous it is wrong. He said covetousness, any covetousness, is
idolatry. Look at the sins with which God ranks it (e.g.
Romans 1:28-31). In fact, according to I Corinthians 5:11,
congregations are supposed to withdraw from any brother or sister
who is covetous. No doubt someone will say, “But Edwin, what if
I play the lottery without covetousness?” Please, do not deceive
yourself. The term translated “covet” or “covetousness” in
these passages is the Greek word “pleonexia.” According to Thayer’s
Lexicon the word means “…one eager to have more,
especially what belongs to others.” According to McClintock
and Strong, it means, “…the desire of increasing
one’s substance by appropriating that of others.” What is
the lottery but a physical activity which embodies covetousness?
What has our state government done but promised us that if we put
something into the pot, we might get to have a whole bunch of our
fellow Tennesseans’ money? We offer them nothing in return for
compensation. We are not rendering any services for it. They are
not freely giving it to us. They don’t want us to have it—they
are playing because they want to win. We are playing to
appropriate for ourselves what belongs to another and the state is
sanctioning it. What am I doing when I put my money on the gas
station counter and ask for a lottery ticket? I am acting out the
very definition of covetousness. I am trying to appropriate for
myself what belongs to others. That is covetousness. Conclusion: Brethren, you tell me, considering these overly powerful verses that describe the character and behavior we Christians are supposed to have, what should we do with the lottery? It should not even be named among us (Ephesians 5:3). And if any among us delve into this covetousness, we, as a congregation, should follow Paul’s directive and withdraw from such a one (I Corinthians 5:11).
Glory
to God in the church by Christ Jesus
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