Proverbs 13:11; 28:22; 28:20; 1 Timothy 6:10; Ephesians 4:28
Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labour shall increase…He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye, and considereth not that poverty shall come upon him…A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent.
For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some have coveted after, they have pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.
C. H. SPURGEON (1834-1892): I noticed, some time ago, that a learned prelate said that he could not find any Commandment against gambling. Where were his eyes? Is it not plainly written, “Thou shall not covet”? What is gambling but covetousness in action?
G. CAMPBELL MORGAN (1863-1945): The whole habit of gambling is of the essence of theft, and this for the reason that it is a means of coming into possession of property for which one has done no honest work.
ADAM CLARKE (1760-1832): Wealth that is not the result of honest industry and hard labour is seldom permanent. All fortunes acquired by speculation, lucky hits, etc., soon become dissipated―God’s blessing is not in them, because they are not the produce of industry…A speculation in trade is a public nuisance and a curse. How many honest men have been ruined by such!
C. H. SPURGEON: When business is mere gambling, it ceases to be legitimate. Let speculators take heed of those dangers which necessarily attend all games of chance. I believe that every form of gambling, though it may take a business shape, tends more or less to harden the heart—Nobody but gamblers could have cast the dice, all blood bespattered, at the foot of the cross of our Redeemer. Gambling brings men into a state of heart worse than almost any other form of sin. When a man is willing to risk his all practically on the mere toss of a halfpenny whether goods shall go up or down, he is usually a bad man. And if he is not, he will be so before long.
AUGUSTINE (354-430): The devil invented gambling.
C. H. SPURGEON: I hold it to be fraught with more deadly evils than anything else that could be invented, even by Satan himself. I saw an old respectable-looking man put down ten pounds [in a casino]. He won, and he received twenty. He put down the twenty; he won again, and he had forty. He put down the forty, and received eighty. He put down the eighty, and took up one hundred and sixty pounds. Then he put it all in his pocket, and walked away as calmly as possible. The man would lose money by that transaction, because he would go back on the morrow, and probably play till he would sell the house that covers his children’s heads, and pawn the very bed from under his wife.
JOHN CALVIN (1509-1564): Such is the madness to which their greed carries them.
C. H. SPURGEON: The worst thing that can happen to a man who gambles is to win. If you lose, it serves you right, and there is hope that you will repent of your folly; if you win, the devil will have you in his net so thoroughly that escape will be well-nigh impossible…A young gambler is sure to be an old beggar if he lives long enough.
THOMAS MANTON (1620-1677): In gambling there is a secret enchantment. A man will play a little, and only venture a small sum—but soon he is enticed in, and more and more entangled. Just so, men think it is no great matter to sin a little—and yet that little leads on to more!
G. CAMPBELL MORGAN: There is no more insidious evil sapping away the integrity and uprightness of the nation today than this lust for possession without toil, which lies at the root of all gambling.
WILLIAM S. PLUMER (1802-1880): Vast schemes of lotteries under various pretexts have been introduced into society, and have greatly corrupted the morals of the people.
D. L. MOODY (1837-1899): There are lotteries, for instance, that we have in many churches. If a man wants to gamble, he doesn’t have to go to some gambling den; he can stay in the church. And there are fairs—bazaars, as they call them—where they have raffles and grab-bags…I believe all these things grieve the Spirit of God.
C. H. SPURGEON: The Bishop of Gibraltar did well to address his clergy in words such as these―“What is wanted of us all is that we should endeavour to form a healthy and righteous public opinion on the subject of gambling, draw away the veil which hides its guilt, and exhibit it to our congregations in its real deformity.”
MARTIN LUTHER (1483-1546): Money won by gambling is not won without self-seeking sin.
C. H. SPURGEON: And yet many say, “Well, I only play for the fun of it—you know there is nothing in it.” Of course there is nothing in it, but look at the connection of it.
JEREMY TAYLOR (1613-1667): If a man be willing or indifferent to lose his own money, and not at all desirous to get another’s, to what purpose is it that he plays for it? If he be not indifferent, then he is covetous or a fool.
WILHELMUS à BRAKEL (1635-1711): Gambling and lotteries are sin…It is an abomination before God to give a portion to the poor from that which we have obtained through unrighteous means or by way of gambling, doing so to quiet the conscience somewhat―this is no more pleasing to God than “the hire of a whore, or the price of a dog” (Deuteronomy 23:18), God forbidding that such funds would come into the treasury.
C. H. SPURGEON: No sin hardens the heart like gambling. Inhumanity is only a natural result of it. The play burns the heart, and dries up the milk of human kindness. While it renders a man weary of ordinary labour, for he fancies he has found a swifter road to riches, it makes him fit for any villainy and vice. It arouses covetousness, creates a selfish excitement, unfits for duty, and prepares for every iniquity. Need we say more against it? Can more be said?
J. C. RYLE (1816-1900): Of all gambling in the world, there is none so reckless as that of the man who lives unprepared to meet God, and yet puts off repentance―Break off from those sins, cast away your transgressions, and turn away from them without delay―Apply to Christ at once.
JOHN TRAPP (1601-1699): What shall it profit a man to win the whole world and lose his own soul?
