Gambling and betting are synonyms meaning: An activity characterised by a balance between winning and losing that is governed by a mixture of skill and chance.

Let’s breakdown the word “gamble”

✓ A significant risk, undertaken with a potential gain.

✓ A risky venture

✓ To take a risk, with the potential of a positive outcome.

✓ To play risky games, especially casino games, for monetary gain.

✓ (transitive) To risk (something) for potential gain.

✓ To interact with equipment at a casino
Who’s a gambler?

✓ One who plays at a game of chance, who gambles.

✓ who takes risks.

Let’s do some breakdown for the word “to bet”:

✓ A wager, an agreement between two parties that a stake (usually money) will be paid by the loser to the winner (the winner being the one who correctly forecast the outcome of an event).

✓ To agree that payment be made to the successful forecaster of the result of an event (usually sporting) by the other party in the agreement. To make a guess about the outcome of an event.
Lottery too needs some breaking:

✓ A scheme for the distribution of prizes by lot or chance, especially a gaming scheme in which one or more tickets bearing particular numbers draw prizes, the other tickets are blanks.

[http://wiktionary.org]

Down to the matter on ground

Simply put, gambling, betting and lottery depends on chance ~ a game of chance.
When we hear the word gambling, betting or lottery, what readily comes to mind is sport betting platforms like bet 9ja, Kings bet, 1X bet etc. Others includes baba Ijabu, American Visa Lottery, National Lottery shemes to mention but a few.

Let’s study some bible passages that talks about the “game of chance” which comes from the love of money or get quick riches mindset.

✓ Gambling Originates from the desire to accumulate quick riches
¶ Mark 8:36 (NKJV), “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?”

The desire to gamble originates from from a deeper desire to accumulate quick riches. When this desire grows big enough it leads one to start looking for every means possible to get rich real fast.

✓ A Gambler Loves Money and whatever money can buy.

¶ Hebrews 13:5 (ESV), “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.'”

The possession of money accumulated over a period of time from work makes one careful to spend it. But when one loves quick money, it pushes one to do almost anything to get it.

✓ Gambling is an Addiction: You’ll keep going back to it…No matter the amount you win.
¶ Ecclesiastes 5:10 (NASB), “He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its income. This too is vanity.”

With the ease with which gambling or betting brings in money, one will most definitely want to rely solely on it. Since it doesn’t cost much work or resources in most cases to gamble, it seldomly becomes a perpetual act which goes on to become an addiction.

When you experience the pleasures and temporal satisfaction that comes from the occasional wins of gambling or betting, you’ll rather want to continue in that path indefinitely.

✓ Gambling comes from covetousness : the desire to acquire more than necessary.
Luke 12:15 (NKJV), “And He said to them, ‘Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses

When you are not satisfied with what you have, you’ll be pushed to acquire more through whatever means possible. Most gamblers are not poor, they just want more with less.

Other consequences of gambling:

√ gambling makes you mentally lazy.

✓ gambling creates a false believe that you will one day accumulate so much money and become rich overnight.

✓ gambling makes you spend people’s money in your possession in the hope that you would win bigger amount of money.

✓ gambling makes you a debtor.

✓ gambling as an addiction can reduce you to rags in the long run.

Let me deviate a little from gambling for cash to gambling on a general note.

The plain truth about this matter of gambling/betting/lottery is that most of us are gamblers without even knowing it.

Let me give some instances:

✓ Gambling in life’s affairs
∆ When you do trier and error in choosing who to spend the rest of your life with ~ you are gambling.

∆ When you sleep around with random partners ~ you are gambling.

∆ When you ignore warning signs during courtship hoping things will change in marriage ~ you are gambling.

∆ When you fail to plan for your life ~ you are gambling.

∆ When you just sit down hopping that things would get better some how ~ you are gambling.

There are many instances in life when we gamble unknowingly.

How to put off the fire of gambling

✓ You don’t need a voice from heaven to know that gambling is not good for you.

✓ If you’re a gambler, you can begin to work on reducing the rate at which you gamble until you’re able to stop with God’s help.

✓ You can work on reducing the time you spend or cut off your closeness with friends who are addicted to gambling or lure you to gamble.

✓ Develop, cultivate or discover your purpose in life and give all you’ve got to actualize it, this way you’ll keep off from gambling.

✓ Tell yourself the truth, repent from gambling in all it’s format and work your way geniunly towards the achievement of your life’s goal.

Yours in His Love,

Emmanuel Obani.

#YourlifeVSGodsWord