Is it OK if Christians Buy the Lotto?

Thoughts?

If you got enough money to throw away on the lotto, please throw some my way. That's my only thought.

Money is a resource, and the Bible does tell us to be good stewards. But it also says we are free to make our own choices.

Shoot, I could sleep with a hooker tonight if I wanted to. That would be blowing money AND fornication. But God gave us free will to make our own choices.

We also have the Bible though, to tell us which ones are bad and (important!) why they are bad. So yeah, no, I don't want to sleep with no hooker. And I'm not throwing my money away on no lotto neither. You know how many minutes I have to spend at my job to pay for one of those tickets? I don't want to waste all that hard work for nothing.

When you gamble, no matter the format, you are trying to place your interests above the interests of others. This is a great time to check your heart.

Lotteries are a tax on people who are bad at arithmetic. In other words, the occasional ticket for fun is fine, but as a regular thing, you're wasting your money.

The people who run government lotteries sell false hope to those who feel hopeless. They profit on the misery of the lowly and the poor. They do this for their own power and advantage.

I know some will sat they play reasonably for the fun, some also play from addiction while neglecting their responsibilities. Can we steal from others and justify our sin by giving a little to the poor, all the while boasting about our good deeds?

Many of us opposed government sponsored gambling and we still do. It's another arm of Babylon.

Come sweet Jesus!

op: ok for Christians to by a lotto ticket?
Biblical 'thoughts'?:

Is it 'by faith'? "...whatsoever is not of faith is sin" (Romans 14:24)
+

Would it not be better to obey this and receive reward for "good works" in
Glory, or "bad works losing reward" by losing "what God provided" us in a
highly risky scheme (odds several million-to-one)?

Amen.

Well, I have thought it is wrong...but we buy it at work a few times per year. My pastor also jokes to give money if we win.

It's not alright for me to buy lotto tickets, but it may be okay for you to purchase them.

I've known a lot of people who have said, "If I won the lotto, I would give the church so much money..."

When I was growing up, my parents had strict rules for us about money (and we were expected to start working as soon as we were eligible.)

If we got $20 for our birthday, we had to pay 10% to church, then save half in our bank account. This was just the guideline we were brought up with, and they loosened the reigns as we grew up, earned our own money, acquired our own bills, etc.

But I'm grateful for that framework and still try to adhere to it (though I obviously can't save half my income anymore, but I still allot a portion to tithes and then a portion to savings.) I've told my parents many times that one of the most important lessons they ever taught me was delayed gratification.

So I think that if I ever did have money, I'd have a solid framework to follow. "Back in the day," I was like a lot of people, buying a lotto ticket just when "the jackpot got big." I think I've only bought 2, maybe 3, in my life.

The last time I did, it was decades ago and God convicted me so heavily that I was praying I didn't win anything because I knew He was saying I'd have to give it all up.

I have never dared to buy once since but I wouldn't judge anyone who did -- maybe God is saying something different to them.

I do have times where I purchase raffle tickets (where a prize is being given away, etc.) when it's for a charity I believe in or if a young friend/relative is selling tickets for a school fundraiser, but even then -- if I somehow feel convicted, I'll just give them an outright donation without accepting a ticket.

No ticket is worth it if it wreaks havoc on my conscience.

A fragment of a verse that Jesus quoted out of Deuteronomy.

"Do not overtempt God"

I enjoy my life the exact way it is.

If I were to win the lottery my life is over....I can't do the things I currently enjoy. I'm a prisoner of the millions of dollars I would have to be the caretaker of....because so many others will want some of it and will go to extraordinary lengths to obtain it. From preachers to politicians to cousins I have long never known....all will pretend to be my friend.

As it is now....I know the truth. I'm not rich except in relationships. I have enough and sometimes too much...but it's a modest sum by most standards. Which gives me plenty to use to relate with my friends. If I won those millions....how can I relate my daily life tasks when my monthly household mortgage is more than my friends earn each year?

So....I can't win if I don't play. And if God somehow wants me to be wealthy He doesn't need a lottery to do so.

I have always thought it was kind of dumb to buy the lotto but I didn't necessarily associate it with evil all the time. Growing up my mom would sometimes buy me a few scratchers to scratch, and after scratching and not winning we would have a laugh. I always knew gambling is unwise. Like, if one goes to Vegas, I think it okay to allot a very small amount for fun/entertainment at the slot machines (accepting I'll never see this money again), but definitely not a moderate/large amount. This is something we need to keep a close check. Personally I think God can provide through a lotto (in that sense I dont think playing the lotto once in awhile is evil). At the same time love of money is evil and so is addiction/idolatry. Definitely something we need to keep watch or even avoid.

Here the losing tickets give you a second chance at winning something like a wide-screen television or appliances or recreational vehicle. And it's all in how you play them that matters...it's where most people focus the game aspect of it around here. I'm not exactly sure of all the rules and details for my before mentioned reasons....but I used to have a work partner who was and he spent the whole day explaining it all to me. I only gave expected replies as he droned on about it to fein interest.

Dunno how things are for you. I suppose people can get interested in such things since there is something more to it than a set of random numbers telling you that you are a loser.

Many believe the lotto is gambling, I look at the lotto as an investment! LOL If you believe it to be a sin then it is a sin to you, but don't push this at someone else I would say.

1 in 14,000,000 odds of an investment to turn a profit, seems like bad investing, but if you win, you win right?!?! I mean if you are a good investor, then who is to argue? lol

I think horse racing and casinos you can have better odds, but some people get addictions to it, and lose everything. Same with the stock market.

Yeah, I think that it is OK, but only in small amounts that do not have an adverse effect on the finances. I gave up playing the lottery many years ago but do not think that there is any biblical prohibition against this. I consider playing the lottery a form of recreation.

Now remember something about the Lotto!! The reason it is an investment is that half the money goes to the children school system!! Hence it is a legal investment!! So, it is no gamble because a gamble only represents self, while in investment helps others as well as self!! So there!!! LOL So I am helping children! No gamble in that!

I played the stock market back in the day. The outcome was not the least bit pleasant. I was poorer but wiser. This was back in my single days when I had a large amount of disposable income each month. Still, stung a little bit for sure. I read the Wall Street Journal like it was a racing form and then placed my bets.

Where I live many people are addicted to gambling. The media is making a big deal out of the lotteries and other kinds of gambling and by doing that making people think it’s just getting a ticket and then you’ll become a millionaire. Every day they are writing about people winning money and the next day they’re huffing about all the folks who are gambling their way into eviction. Hypocrites.

Generally speaking, people should work for their money. An exception is an inheritance. Gambling can easily be addictive. Gambling means that the many lose for the benefit of the few, which is not God's way. It is instructive to follow the lives of those who win a lot of money. Rarely does it do them any good.

The Lord told someone I know that he would win a new car. He was bemused as he was not in favour of gambling. He bought a ticket for a raffle but won nothing. This left him even more confused. Meanwhile, his wife requested some information for a product promotion. The promoter said that someone would get a new car if they requested information. And yes, they won a new car, but not by gambling. God has ways of providing that are amazing.