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Written by Joel Davis
Over the course of this summer, we’re going to spend some time reflecting on the Psalms. “Summer of Psalms” is more than poetic alliteration. Summer is a time for us to step away from our usual rhythms and reflect on how the last school year or fiscal year went, how our discipleship to King Jesus is going, to release lies and anxieties we’ve been believing, to receive a better word from our Father, and respond in obedience as we think about what we want the next season of life to be characterized by. And so over the course of the next couple of months, our devotions will center around the prayer book of God’s people, The Psalms, as we ask Him to evaluate our lives from His Kingdom’s perspective and give us wisdom and insight into our next faithful step.
As I write this devotional, there is a big story in college football about a quarterback who confessed to betting on games, including games he played in. And this has forced me to think about gambling as a theological category. Some will want to talk about legality and morality—does something being legal necessarily make it moral? Could something be moral even if a nation says it isn’t legal? These are both great questions, but I want to stick to the question of overflow that we address so often. If our Father goes first, loves first, if Jesus is our Good Shepherd, and if the Spirit leads us in all wisdom, then how can we approach gambling from the perspective of intimacy with the Triune God?
You know we spend an awful lot of time on Psalm 23 in the Trexo family, but today I want to look next door at Psalm 24 and what it tells us about our Heavenly Father’s possessions, and provisions, and our posture in light of that. This is a psalm of David, and we’ll take it a few verses at a time. David says this:
The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it;
for he founded it on the seas
and established it on the waters.
The first thing we’re told is that everything that exists belongs to God! He made it and He owns it. What I love about this is how beautifully it follows Psalm 23. The Lord is my shepherd. If I follow my Shepherd, I have everything I need. When you read those first two verses of Psalm 23, you might ask yourself, “but how do I knowI’ll have what I need?” Psalm 24 answers, “because your Shepherd owns everything!”
What does this have to do with gambling? Placing bets undermines our belief in our Father’s loving provision. It’s an implicit belief that I don’t have enough, and that I need to do something to provide for myself, because the job He’s given me, and whatever wealth He’s afforded to me, is not enough. I know not everyone thinks that explicitly when they put a wager in, but it’s hard to escape the logic of it.
We don’t have to place wagers to be content with our wages.
Instead, let’s consider the Bible’s implicit connection between work and wages:
Do not muzzle an ox while it treads out grain. —Deuteronomy 25:4
When we were with you, this is what we commanded you: “If anyone isn’t willing to work, he should not eat.” —2 Thessalonians 3:10
Gambling short-circuits this connection and seeks financial gain primarily through chance instead of productive work. Not only that, but gambling is a closed system. It rewards the winners by taking from the losers. In our Father’s Kingdom, there is a superabundance of resources that He freely gives to those who work diligently and ask Him in faith. In our Father’s Kingdom, no one must lose for another to gain.
David goes on to address our posture toward the Lord since everything belongs to Him:
Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord?
Who may stand in his holy place?
The one who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god.They will receive blessing from the Lord
and vindication from God their Savior.
Such is the generation of those who seek him,
who seek your face, God of Jacob.
How do we pursue intimacy with our Heavenly Father? That is what we’re talking about when we talk about ascending the mountain. This is a picture of drawing near to God. Moses is one of the most famous people in the Bible who went up the mountain of the Lord to speak with God. And in Exodus 33, we’re told that God spoke with Moses face to face, like you would speak with a friend. I mean, just stop and picture that for a second. We know the intimacy, the closeness of speaking with someone face to face. And that is what’s being offered to someone who doesn’t trust in idols and false gods.
What do idols have to do with gambling? If there is anything we know about money, it’s how easy it is for people to feel like there’s not enough of it. The betting apps know this. Most of them hand you $250 just to get you started in your new favorite hobby. They know something about the human heart. They know you’re probably not going to stop at $250. They know the dopamine surge that happens when your bet hits. They know you’ll be back. But contrast that with these powerful words from the Apostle Paul:
“Everything is permissible for me,” but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible for me,” but I will not be mastered by anything. —1 Corinthians 6:12
Money wants to master us, like any other false idol. It promises you that if you just had a little more, you would be satisfied. Instead, our Father promises that He has already given us all things for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). We need only depend on Him and trust Him for it. Zero risk involved. When we think about how different freedom with our Father is from slavery to money, we shouldn’t be the least bit surprised at these warnings against the love of money in the New Testament.
He then told them, “Watch out and be on guard against all greed, because one’s life is not in the abundance of his possessions.” —Luke 12:15
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and by craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. —1 Timothy 6:10
Some even believe when Jesus said, “You cannot serve God and Mammon” in Matthew 6:24, He was giving us more than just a synonym for money. Mammon could have been a personification, a reference to demonic spiritual forces behind systems of greed, accumulation, and economic domination. We won’t build an entire theology around this one verse, but in our understanding of our three enemies of sin, the world, and Satan, we wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to hear that there was a demon behind every enticement to throw away my money to pure chance in the hopes of getting rich quick.
The offer from Psalm 24 is peace and rest in the knowledge that the Lord owns everything, that we can come to Him and know that we will receive blessing when we seek Him. And when we do that, we’ll join King David and so many brothers and sisters in the Lord who have gone before and sing these words:
Lift up your heads, you gates;
be lifted up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The Lord strong and mighty,
the Lord mighty in battle.Lift up your heads, you gates;
lift them up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
Who is he, this King of glory?
The Lord Almighty—
he is the King of glory.
Thank You, Father, that you are the King of glory. We welcome You into our lives this day and ask that we would trust You for provision because we know You’re in possession of all things seen and unseen. We pray that you give us the courage to trust that You’ve given us all we need and not give ourselves over to the idols of mammon.
