No! They are enjoying a day out and they're paying for it, but they're not paying for it directly. They're paying for it at the tables, and they could possibly get that money back.
That's something that they enjoy doing. They're adults. They're allowed to do that. One of the absolute worst arguments that I have seen against gambling comes from the Southern Baptist Convention. And I'm going to link this paper down below, but I'll read what what they said. They said, "many Christians object that if they budget a certain amount of their discretionary entertainment funds for gambling and don't go beyond that, 'what's the harm?' After all, Christian people waste money on all kinds of diversions. Far from convincing me that gambling is not necessarily wrong, this particular argument actually confirms in my mind, because it reveals a complete disregard for what for what one's participation in gambling does to others. This argument reveals a self-centeredness, and a lack of concern for weaker brothers and sisters that believers ought to find disturbing Casinoslots. In reality, even Christians who are not personally hurt by it are not free to participate in in an industry that preys on the weak and poor." What a terrible argument! Because here's the thing - you can become addicted to anything. You can be addicted to food. You can have a shopping addiction. You could have a sex addiction. So does that mean that we're going to stop eating food? We're going to stop shopping and we're going to stop having sex? No! Of course not! That's ridiculous. But here's the other thing - what does Jesus say about sin and self-control when it comes to you? Is it "everybody else make sure not to do anything that is going to cause somebody to sin?" (And legitimately anything could possibly cause somebody to sin.) Jesus says that, "if your (Matthew 5:29-30 on screen) right hand is going to cause you to sin, cut it off! If your eye is going to cause you to sin, pluck it out!" It's not for everybody else to forego living their life. In the book of Ecclesiastes it says, (Ecclesiastes 5:18-19 on screen) "eat, drink, enjoy your life. Go do these things." So no. People don't need to stop living life because you have decided that you don't want to work on your personal responsibility. It is up to you to take care of your own self, your own household. And of course we're not going to lead somebody into sin, and cause them to be a stumbling block when we are around them. So "oh we know somebody has a propensity to you know abuse alcohol," so we're not going to drink around them. Or maybe this person's having a hard time financially, so we're not going to show off all of our stuff so they begin to covet. Of course not! But that doesn't mean that we're not allowed to have nice things, or drive cars, or gamble, or have families, because that might lead somebody else into sin, or that might lead a weaker person to sin. That's a garbage argument. And this is the same kind of garbage argument that people in Saudi Arabia use for having women covered from head to toe all in black - so that no men get any terrible thoughts about a woman. It's on you. If you have a problem, cut your hands off. Period! One of the most upsetting arguments against gambling is this one. It's from the same paper from the Southern Baptist Convention, and let me read it to you. It says, "gambling is a wasteful use of the Lord's money. I doubt that many Christians who gamble tithe, but even if they do, New Testament Christians understand that God doesn't have the right to only 10% of our money, but all of it. Even though I'm a tither, I am still required to be a steward of all I have because it belongs to God. I am no freer to gamble with God's money than I am with anyone else's, even though others might waste the Lord's money on equally frivolous things. Their sin does not excuse mine." You know who this reminds me of? Maybe you've heard of him. His named Judas Iscariot. Traitor! Thief! And in John chapter 12, Mary Magdalene anoints Jesus. She cracks open a perfume made of nard - pure nard. It costs a year's wages. And she wipes Jesus's feet with her hair, preparing him for burial. Judas comes onto (John 12:4-8 on screen) the scene piping up saying, "why wasn't this perfume sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the destitute?" The Bible goes on to say, "he said this not because he cared about the destitute, but because he was a thief. He was in charge of the money bag and would steal what was put into it." And what does this paper say? "Oh I doubt that many Christians who gamble tithe!" What does that have any bearing on anything? Oh that's right! Because the pastors who are speaking about this want more money in their coffers so that they can decide what to do with that money. Because you know what? In the United States all these churches are 501(c)(3)s so they're not filing tax returns where they are beholden to shareholders, or where they have to disclose what they're spending money on. They could be using the money for whatever they want. They don't want oversight. What they're saying is, "don't spend money there! You need to spend it here!" And it's all about "giving it to God" nonsense. They're all a bunch of snakes! People are allowed to have fun. People are allowed to use discretionary income for things that benefit them. They are allowed to purchase things that other people might covet, but that's not their problem. It's one thing if you're showing off in front of people who don't have anything, where you're causing them to stumble. But you going about your day, in your own private life, you're allowed to go gamble. You're allowed to have fun. If you can pay for it, you're all good. If you have an addiction problem - take care of your addiction! Cut your hands off! Cut your eyes out! Whatever you have to do to prevent yourself from sinning. But it's not everybody else's job to live like prisoners, because you can't control yourself. This isn't Saudi Arabia. This is not Islam. This is Christianity and we have freedom in Christ Jesus to go out and enjoy the life that God has given us. Yes of course we work towards God's kingdom. But we also get to enjoy this life here on earth. It's not a sin. Stop saying that things are sinful when only man says they're sinful, not God! That's just something that I wanted to share with you today. I hope you will like, subscribe and share and I'll talk to you later. Bye!
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