Is Buying A Lottery Ticket The Same As Gambling?
Answer: Yes. Gambling is when you buy a chance to win a big amount of money with a small amount of money, so buying a lottery ticket is the same as gambling.
The difference between gambling and investing is that in investing you are buying a product-a piece of a company or a bond, for example. In gambling, you are just buying a “chance.”
And your chances of winning are very poor. In fact, the only way you can win is if a lot of other people lose. That’s not a good or wise way to use money.
It’s fun to play games and it’s fun to win a prize, but don’t let it turn into gambling. A game becomes gambling when you try to win a large amount with a small amount.
Your whole reason should be to have fun, not to get rich.
Key verse: Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God. (Luke 12:21)
Related verses: 1 Timothy 6:9-10
Related questions: Is it wrong to buy a lottery ticket hoping to get money out of it? Where does the lottery money that people win come from?
Why Do People Play The Lottery If They Probably Wont Win?
Answer: People gamble and play the lottery because they hope to win. They imagine winning, and they imagine how much it would enable them to buy.
They think that having a lot of money would solve all their problems.
Meanwhile, the cost of one lottery ticket is very low, so people figure they aren’t losing much.
Playing the lottery is a foolish thing to do. It plays right into our love of money, which Jesus warned us against.
Many people who win millions in lotteries end up worse off than they were before.
They spend all the money and have more problems than ever.
That’s because having lots of money doesn’t solve your money problems.
You need only to manage your money according to God’s principles to have enough.
Being rich and having more can actually make your life worse. You have a lot more to manage and a lot more to lose.
Loving God and others and receiving their love in return are the keys to happiness, not more things or more money.
Key verse: Wealth from get-rich-quick schemes quickly disappears; wealth from hard work grows. (Proverbs 13:11)
Related verses: 1 Samuel 8:3; Proverbs 28:20, 22; Luke 11:39; 12:13-21
Related questions: Why do people buy lottery tickets? Are all people happy when they win the lottery?
Note to parents: The lottery plays directly into a love of money. For the person who doesn’t love money, the lottery no attraction.
Does Money Make People Bad?
Answer: Money itself isn’t bad, and money itself doesn’t make people bad. But the love of money is and does.
When people love money, they become greedy and do all sorts of bad things to get and keep money.
God wants us to use money to help hurting people. When we hurt and use people so we can get money, we’ve got it wrong.
Key verse: For the love of money is at the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows. (1 Timothy 6:10)
Related verses: Proverbs 28:25; Ezekiel 7:19; Luke 6:20, 24-25; 12:13-21; 1 John 2:15-17
Related questions: Does money make you selfish? Money is the root of all evil, but can I do good with it? Why do fairy tales say that rich people are bad and poor people are good?
Note to parents: Try not to paint a one-sided picture of money’s goodness or badness.
It is true that money is a snare and a temptation to selfishness. We have to resist its negative influence; this is one reason for giving.
But rich Christians have used their money to finance ministries and good works.
Encourage your kids to be honest in their business dealings, pay what they owe, be generous, and use money in God’s service.
Using money the right way helps us keep it in perspective.