Author: Bryan Gibson

Weekly Bulletin
July 3, 2016

What the Lottery Will Teach Our Children
by Steve Klein
Note: This article by the above author was written about 17 years ago, when a state lottery was being proposed. It has been voted down several times since, but rest assured its proponents will continue to press the issue.
According to the politicians, the proposed Alabama Lottery is for the educational benefit of our children. I submit that, if it passes, the Lottery will indeed help educate our children, but maybe not in the way we’re being led to believe. Here’s what our children will be taught if we pass the Lottery:
They will be taught that gambling is a better solution to a financial problem than work and sacrifice. The Bible teaches that financial problems can be overcome by the work and charity of individuals. The Christian is to “labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need” (Ephesians 4:28). But the lottery will rearrange Ephesians 4:28 in the minds of children so that they think it says, “let him gamble, playing lotto with his hands, that the State may have something to give him who has need.” The Bible teaches Christians to pay taxes to support the legitimate functions of government (Romans 13:6-7). Taxes represent a burden and a sacrifice to the citizens of any nation, but they are the proper way to fund the functions of government. The lottery tries to convey that such sacrifices are needless.
They will be taught that the end justifies the means. There were those who slandered Paul by claiming that he said, “Let us do evil that good may come” (Romans 3:8). Passing the lottery, ostensibly for the sake of education, will say exactly that to our children. It will say that if you are trying to accomplish something good, it doesn’t matter what evil you have to do in the process.
They will be taught that a moral principle can always be sacrificed for a financial interest. I read once of a financial interest meeting a moral principle on a narrow bridge. Since they could not pass side by side the moral principle happily laid itself down and was immediately run over and squashed flat by the financial interest. The lottery will teach children that that is just they way it’s supposed to be. They need never let morality stand in the way of getting money.
If the lottery is passed, many children will learn the lessons mentioned above, believing them to be the truth. Are these the lessons you want taught to our children?

Notable Quotes on Gambling

“The only sure thing about luck is that it will change.”--Wilson Mizner.
“Gambling promises the poor what property performs for the rich—something for nothing.”--George Bernard Shaw.
“Anybody can win, unless there happens to be a second entry”--George Ade
“The best throw of the dice is to throw them away.”--Austin O’Malley
“There are two times in a man’s life when he should not [gamble]: When he can’t afford it, and when he can.”--Mark Twain
On the subject of state sponsored lotteries: “Immoral means have never led to moral ends. We are putting the full force of government into the promotion of moral corruption.”--William Safire

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	(334) 365-5887 / (334) 868-0801
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The Prattmont Church of Christ is just what the name suggests, a church that belongs to Christ. We are not a denomination; we are simply a group of Christians trying very hard to practice the teachings of our Head, Jesus Christ. The New Testament offers a complete pattern for what each local church should be like—its organization, its worship, its work, etc. We are committed to following that pattern. We cordially invite you to attend our services. We would also welcome any comments or questions about this bulletin.

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