Even If You Win, You Lose

There is an old story about a young man that bought a horse from farmer. He paid the farmer one hundred dollars and agreed to come by the next day to pick up his new horse. The next day as he drove up the farmer said, 'Sorry son, but I have some bad news, the horse died.' The young man replied, 'well, then just give me my money back’. The farmer said, 'Can't do that. I went and spent it already’. The young man exclaimed, ‘What am I going to do with a dead horse!’ The old farmer felt for the young man and said, ‘Here is what you should do, go into town and tell all the folks you are having a raffle for a horse. If you can sale a hundred and one tickets at a dollar a piece you can get your money back.’ ‘Why a hundred and one tickets?’ the young man asked quizzically. ‘Well,’ the farmer explained, ‘the guys who wins the raffle is going to be pretty upset that the horse is dead, you will have to give him his dollar back’

I often think of this story when I hear stories about how lotteries and casinos are going to help improve our schools and communities. As the old conman adage goes, “it is easier to cheat a million men out of one dollar than one man out of a million.” Even though the odds a firmly against them many people will waste their money on these types of scams. Those that run them are little more that clever cheats. Proverbs 21:5-6 warns us, “The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty. The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor and a snare of death.” This verse tells us that those who use deceive by dishonest means and those that think these get rich quick schemes are legitimate are in for big problems.

Gambling in its various forms is a stain on our society. The scriptures give no specific command against it, but gambling is rooted in greed, selfishness, laziness and foolishness, things the Bible very much condemns. It is a habit that wise spiritual people avoid. Trying to get “quick easy money” leads to “long hard broke”. Proverbs 13:11 instructs us, “Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it.” Those who buy into the con game of gambling, even if they win, they lose!

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