Questions From Readers

● What guidance does the Bible provide concerning gambling? For example, would it be bad for a Christian to put up small money stakes in a card game played just for entertainment?

The Scriptures do not provide a basis for any rigid rule against every “bet,” no matter how small. Yet they do help us to see that gambling is a serious wrong, one that can result in exclusion from the Christian congregation and from God’s kingdom.

It is widely acknowledged that gambling often leads to or incites greed. This is important to Christians, for the Bible strongly condemns “greediness.” God informs us that “greedy persons” will not inherit his kingdom, and that covetousness is to be classed with idolatry. Hence, sincere Christians want to avoid practices that might cause them to manifest greediness and thus to fall far short of the glory of God.​—Col. 3:5; 1 Cor. 6:9, 10; Rom. 3:23.

Experience shows that many who became greedy, compulsive gamblers began by making petty bets ‘for entertainment.’ They saw that they could win small amounts and were tempted to try to win larger amounts. The greedy compulsion can addict a person, even leading to a life that previously would have been unthinkable.