Are you as concerned as I am about the marriage of professional sport and gambling? Not only are we being deluged by advertising about sports gambling, but the organizations, players and systems are aligning themselves to use gambling to promote sport! And I suspect that those involved don’t know how dangerous this is.

Judas sold Jesus for 30 pieces of silver…and many sports enthusiasts are selling the nature of sport, that is good clean courageous competition for the fun or thrill of the sport for financial gain. There is no other motive for this to happen. Yup – good sport…gone for 30 pieces of silver.

It is indicative of our culture. We continue to trade off good for what we think is better but it is not.

Major Ray Harris, a good friend and one of the most articulate writers I know has recently written a remarkable article for The Salvationist – I offer you the link for you to read here!

So how do we talk to our children about this growing danger? Yup – I call it a danger.

I don’t buy lottery tickets – I’ve written that here before. I do not do so because of two reasons. Frist and foremost I think it’s a waste of money. Secondly, as a Christian, the very act of buying lottery tickets or any other gambling is a direct attempt to “win” a big prize and secure my financial future. But I have placed my trust in God’s provision for me and for my future.

Now I think I’m adding a third reason. The gambling industry feeds off of those who are in the most financial difficulty – the very people whose lives are financially fragile and cannot afford to lose ten or twenty dollars (or more) a week.

To involve myself in this then only perpetuates the problem and puts my hand on the financial gavel which will come to call on those without the means to recover.

So thank you Major Ray Harris for your excellent article and for the call to guard our kids.