Topic(s): Moral Issues, Christian Living

Bob Prichard

Christians should not buy lottery tickets or support policies allowing them. Lotteries have a long history in the United States. The Continental Congress authorized a lottery to finance the Revolutionary War, and Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, and other universities raised money through lotteries. The lesson of history is, however, that lotteries do not raise the revenues they promise, and are breeding grounds of corruption and crime. By 1900, all the states in the United States had outlawed lotteries, and it is only in recent years as states sought more sources of revenue that they have turned to lotteries. Thomas Jefferson described the lottery as “a tax on the willing,” and as lotteries have grown, many have proved unable to avoid this tax. While anyone may play the lottery, the players are more likely to be the less educated, lower income people, least able to afford it.

One problem with state-run lotteries is that this puts the government’s stamp of approval on a very harmful activity. The state should not promote gambling, which is dangerous to both individuals and society. Multitudes gamble for the false hope of the lottery, including millions of compulsive gamblers who absolutely cannot stop. The myth of “something for nothing,” and “hitting the jackpot” entices new converts daily. Paul warned that Christians should not take their liberty (such as an ability to gamble without becoming addicted), to cause others to stumble. “But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to them that are weak” (1 Corinthians 8:9).

The ethic taught by the Bible is that the Christian should be different from the world. In particular, the Christian works diligently and honestly. “Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men” (Colossians 3:23). “Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth” (Ephesians 4:28). How can the illusion of “hitting the jackpot” by gambling on the lottery encourage the Christian to work honestly and effectively? The very basis of the lottery is an appeal to man’s innate greed, or covetousness. But God says that covetousness is idolatry (Colossians 3:5). “Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth” (Luke 12:15).

Lotteries are supposed to raise new revenues for special needs such as education, but they do not generate any new wealth. They just shift money from the gambler to the state, without producing anything of value, while at the same time costing the state because of the increased crime associated with state-run gambling. Should the state encourage this addicting vice just to balance the budget? Would Jesus have played the lottery?