I was reminded recently that state lotteries offer a wide assortment of games, enticing people to play until they win a big cash prize that they’re encouraged to wrap their hearts around. The Bible offers another alternative. By the sovereign will of the triune God, Jesus, the Son hung on a cross 2,000 years ago and in doing so, suffered in place of all who will at one point come to faith in Him. Those who come to faith recognize that they deserved to suffer on the cross but through faith accept that it is only by God’s Grace that they were spared the punishment borne by Christ. The good news doesn’t stop there. By no merit of their own, believers in Christ obtain the same favor from God as Christ who existed with the Godhead from eternity past and fulfilled a life of perfect obedience in His earthly ministry. With this favor given to believers comes fellowship with the Godhead and a promised inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading that God by His power secures for believers to be obtained upon Christ’s return.
Sadly, state lottery programs send a much different message. Rather than pointing people to God’s providential hand for provision, the intent behind the lottery programs is to entice people’s hopes around the fictitious concept of luck and chance to gain a quick fix. Now, even if winnings are obtained, they ultimately dwindle and do not satisfy because, as many studies show, even those who win enormous jackpots continue to gamble. With that said, a lottery system is built on the false premise that wealth can be obtained hastily by pursuing means that rely on random, unpredictable outcomes. Conversely, by putting one’s faith in God, a person trusts that by His providential hand, their needs will be met according to His will for those of faith know God works all things together for their good as they are called according to His purpose. We’re also reminded of God’s sovereign hand of provision in James 1:17, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”
In examining state lotteries, a look at governmental authority is necessary. Indeed, to start with, it’s vital to recognize that all authority comes from God, for in Romans 13:1 we’re told, “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.” Furthermore, the purpose of the state is defined in verse 4, “for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.” Going back to Genesis 9:5-6 we find the initial implementation of the state, “From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man. ‘Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.” Clearly, God has granted power to the state to punish those who do wicked acts towards others considering that we are made in His image. Furthermore, He granted this authority for our good.
Now, hang on to that thought and consider what it means for a state to maintain a lottery system. By having lottery systems, states seek to profit from players losing for that’s the only way they gain. While Maryland state officials may boast in saying that roughly 62% of gambling revenues went to players in 2017, we must stop and think about this. Suppose a person went to a retail shop, with $100 for some merchandise, but walked away with only $62 worth of merchandise. Or say an investor bought $1,000 worth of mutual funds but after six months, their investment was down to $620. Considering this, we can logically conclude that, state lottery systems cause people to lose money, pushing them deeper into debt and poverty. We can especially say this when we look at research done by outlets such as Bloomberg. In a 2018 report, they showed that lotteries are doing damage to Americans with the lowest income. In fact, their research tells us that the lowest-income homes in the United States are those that tend to spend the most on these tickets. On average, this amounts to $412 each year spent on lottery tickets in these homes, compared to just $105 per year in homes earning the highest incomes.
What’s especially evil, is that gambling institutions with the state lotteries being no exception prey on the vulnerabilities of the mentally ill. There are those in our society with chemical imbalances who turn to gambling, while not necessarily in a conscious way but to seek stimulation to compensate for their chemical imbalance(s). For example, we’re told in a piece entitled, “We put troubled lives back together” from CINewsNow.com’s June 29, 2012, edition, that by observation some pathological gamblers have lower levels of norepinephrine than normal gamblers. In fact, according to a piece found in the Articles of General Psychiatry entitled, “Pathological Gambling: A Psychobiological Study” by Alec Roy from April of 1988, Roy tells us that norepinephrine is secreted under stress, arousal, or thrill, so pathological gamblers gamble to make up for their under-dosage. Jon Grant and Suck Won Kim in their piece entitled “Medication Management of Pathological Gaming” from the September 1, 2006 edition of Minnesota Medicine attribute depressed levels of serotonin to compulsive behavior, including a gambling addiction which is why antidepressants have been used to treat pathological gambling. Furthermore, what’s also shown is that pathological gambling when coupled with the obsessive-compulsive disorder, requires higher doses of antidepressants as is usually required for depressive disorders. By their nature, gambling outlets prey on those seeking to escape life’s downfalls, desired passions for risk-taking, desires for sensation fulfillment, and impulsivity.
When state lotteries and other forms of gambling were established in various states, government officials greatly mislead taxpayers. For example, in 1969, New Jersey congressman Cornelius Gallagher wrote that if the Garden State enacted a lottery, “we could abandon all taxation in New Jersey and increase every service in our state four times over.” However, despite New Jersey having a state lottery, several casinos, online casino gambling, and commercialized sports betting, they’re ranked as one of the worst states in respect to fiscal condition in the nation as reported in the George Mason University Mercatus Center’s report on the fiscal condition of states. In Maryland, false claims were also made to taxpayers in 1973 when the lottery was implemented as state officials claimed there would never be another property tax increase though property owners these days are constantly at the mercy of their county councils hoping they won’t raise assessments. The simple reality is that whenever money comes into state treasuries, regardless of the source, the politicians spend it without delay. Consequently, we end up in a vicious cycle, money comes in, it gets spent, budget shortfalls occur, and the politicians turn to more sources for revenue, whether it be more taxes, fees, borrowing, or last-but not least-additional ways to obtain money from gambling.
Now, going back to the intended purpose of the state as we’re told in God’s word, we can see that operating state lotteries runs counter to what God intended. In fact, we can say without a doubt, leading people into increasing debt and poverty while laying other stumbling blocks does not promote the overall good of individuals, families, and communities. As mentioned, state authority is intended to promote the dignity of human beings, as we’re all created in God’s image. By using lottery systems to generate revenue, government officials ignore this call and fail to recognize that their authority is divinely given. Furthermore, by implementing state lotteries and many other failed initiatives, they make their message clear: the interest of the state trumps the welfare of the people.
In His Image 