I just got a very large postcard in the mail yesterday encouraging me to vote for Proposition A. I’ve taken the liberty of changing the Yes to No on the front of the card, so no one will mistake my position. The first thing that struck me about the card was how deceptive it was. It encouraged people to vote for Proposition A to receive millions of dollars for schools, jobs and services. Only on the bottom of the backside of the postcard were the words “provided by casinos.”
The apple on the front reminded me of the original fruit in the garden of Eden that Adam and Eve were tempted to eat. It was so appealing and yet, in hindsight, disobeying God and eating the fruit led to dreadful consequences. Gambling is evil and the deeper Missouri imbibes of the forbidden fruit, the more hooked she becomes.
Gambling was legalized in Missouri in 1992, yet now, just 16 years later, many people cannot even remember when gambling was not allowed. Familiarity with evil sears the conscience. Rather than giving money to Missouri’s people, casinos remove billions of dollars from the economy that could have been put to much better use. On the way, the lives of thousands of people and their families are tragically affected by the addiction of gambling. The St Louis Post Dispatch recounts some of the ill effects of gambling in their editorial urging Missourians to defeat the multi-million dollar campaign by casinos to pass Proposition A. You can also find more reasons to vote No on Proposition A on www.NOonA.com.
As a pastor, why am I convinced that Proposition A is evil? Proposition A basically removes the $500 loss limit on gambling in Missouri. This makes a bad thing worse by taking away any limits from thousands people who cannot control their gambling habit. Passage of Proposition A will greatly increase the number of people that the evil of gambling will devastate in the future.
What does the Bible say about gambling? There are many passages that I could use, but let’s just look at one. 1 Timothy 6:9 (NIV) People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. Why do people gamble? People gamble because they want to get rich and the more they gamble, the more the desire to get rich grows. Let’s dispense with the silly excuse I hear from time to time, “it’s just entertainment.” If there was no money to be won, gambling wouldn’t exist. So gambling fuels this desire to get rich, whether gambling in a casino or through state-sponsored lotteries. The result is that people fall into temptation and a trap which ultimately plunges people into ruin and destruction.
So, I encourage you to vote NO on Proposition A. Defeating Proposition A will not stop the evil of gambling in Missouri, but it will slow it’s expansion and that is a worthy cause.
Good reasoning, and a sincere moral perspective. Thank you.
My own observation is that arguments for the proposition have sometimes been less than completely honest.