What Will a Man Give in Exchange for His Soul? (Maybe $1.4billion?) |

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One-billion-four-hundred-million dollars.

One-thousand-four-hundred-million.

It’s a lot of money. A whole lot of money. An amount of money I cannot fathom having.

It also is the estimated payout for the winning ticket (or tickets) in tonight’s Powerball drawing. In American history, it is the largest single amount ever said to be the winning amount.

And it has a lot of people talking.

Sales of Powerball tickets have exploded. Last weekend, when the jackpot was over $900,000,000, lines of people stood to get a ticket. Sales now are going even higher.

A lot of Christians play the lottery. Many more will jump in at the chance of becoming an instant billionaire (minus the over 50% tax you pay).

But the question we must always ask is this: Is this right?

Jesus asked the question in Mark 8:37, “What will a man give in exchange for his soul?” Of course, the Lord was not talking about the lottery or gambling specifically, but He was making the overriding principle that there should not be anything of this earth–even a breathtaking amount of wealth or power–that is worth more to us than our soul.

With that in mind, we must make the clear statement: gambling is wrong.

Why? There are a myriad of reasons, but consider just a few in this article.

Gambling is putting something of value to chance with no reason. Some say that gambling is just another form of investing. The two can be the same, if one just throws money at “investments” with no research. Gambling, though, has no basis of research. (Well, other than the house always wins.) Thus, it is poor stewardship.
Gambling uses other people. The lottery takes money from some people and gives it to others, with no real basis behind it other than a lucky guess of numbers. As Christians, we are to treat others like we would want to be treated, and we are to be neighborly to all. To put it simply, Christians are to be givers, not takers.
Gambling feeds a corrupt and preying system. Some suggest that they can afford to gamble in the same way they can afford tickets to a movie, play, concert, or ball game. Such may be true, but the entire system of the lottery preys upon those who cannot afford such things, and instead, who pay money for the “hope and prayer” of striking it rich. Almost every study of zip codes in the US shows that people living in the poorest zip codes spend the most on the lottery.
Gambling is fueled by greed. Why else would someone play? Enough said on this one!

Did you realize that the Bible actually warns against the lottery? Okay, maybe not specifically, but the book of Proverbs, on more than one occasion, does warn against those to try to get rich quickly.

“Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase” (Proverbs 13:11).
“The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty” (Proverbs 21:5).

I know a lot of people see playing the lottery (or other forms of gambling) as just another form of entertainment. However, when we really understand the basis for the “gaming” industry, it should cause us to think. It simply is not moral, and it leads to greater problems in the long-run.

To put the matter bluntly, if $1,400,000,000 is enough to make you think about compromising your morality, then this world is your home. Don’t sell your soul for something wrongfully gained. Remember the riches of heaven are not measured in dollars in cents, but instead are found in the glory and honor of God, which cannot be counted.