Gambling

Thou Shalt Not Covet

So you’ve never gambled, and it holds no interest for you. This article is meant for you as well. We really don’t think about how much covetousness saturates out culture. My purpose is to show this infection in all its manifestations, in hopes that people will begin to root out this horrible curse.

The most obvious forms of gambling are casinos and lotteries. These are harmful to many who don’t even participate, because people who are poor and in desperate need often use money they need for necessities to participate, in hopes of getting enough of other people’s money to pay for their expenses. It is a blatant form of greed and covetousness. It destroys the savings of senior citizens so that they become dependent on relatives and taxpayers. That hurts all of us. Most of us stay away from these things, although far too many people casually buy lottery tickets. When we do that, we fuel the beast.

As a direct consequence and cause, we have various welfare programs paid for by taxpayers. While there are genuinely needy people, God didn’t give the responsibility for helping them to the government. He gave that to the family and the church or synagogue. Why? Because it benefits government and elected officials to keep people dependent, and government has no way to screen out people who collect fraudulently, which is why their attempts to do so are so burdensome for recipients. On the other hand, churches, can determine who is genuinely needy, and it is in the best interest of churches to get people back on their feet. Gambling and welfare feed on each other. They rob people of incentives to be productive. They eviscerate the spirit of the people.

I wouldn’t take a gun and poke it into the face of my neighbor and demand his money. When government taxes him and spends it on welfare, this is exactly what they are doing. Helping others must always be done from a willing heart. If I wouldn’t do this, why do I let the government do my dirty work for me? Don’t vote for people who have promised to rob the productive and buy votes from the slothful. Really, someone who isn’t productive should not be voting for any candidate or issue involving other people’s money. One can use his vote to elect corrupt candidates because of greed.

Less obvious

Minimum wage is another example. It is people who use collective power to take more than their services are worth on the market. The result is usually economic reality: customers pay more than they should for services, including people receiving minimum wage, which cancels out the advantages. And businesses often have to close, causing problems for everyone.

What about sweepstakes? I am often entered into sweepstakes against my will. Should I ever win, I will refuse the money. Why? Because it’s other people’s money and doesn’t belong to me. I hope I never have to face that. I don’t want to win. I don’t want to be entered in the first place. They violate my religion if they do it.

Raffles? People enter voluntarily, and IF the entity giving away the item owns it personally, or someone voluntarily puts up the prizes, they’re marginally acceptable. I used to go to dinners hosted by a friend, and he would put up his own items for the raffle. Tickets were free. I did participate in those. It is the ONLY exception in my personal life.

People who are willing and even eager to take other people’s money often get scammed by the Nigerian scam. On its face, all the versions there are send out signals that what you are doing if you fall for it is illegal. Or should be. People who get caught are not totally innocent.

On the other hand, we have scam artists who try to get your money by telling you a false sob story. I have encountered far too many of these. Just recently, someone hit me up for money because he was engaged in a project to refit a hospital which was being rebuilt, and the money he had set aside turned out to be inadequate. It is even possible the perp doesn’t speak English and was using AI to communicate with me. There were clues. It was all a lie, and I reported him. I lost count of how many perps on Facebook invited me to be friends, and pretended to be American military, stealing other people’s images (I even traced down some of these) to give a sense of legitimacy to their claims. If you get an invitation from someone who has only a handful of pictures and no other real information on social media, beware.

How about the stock market? Again, not really legitimate because people connive to gain benefits over others, and lower the value of the holdings of people who are less informed. While funding commercial efforts is necessary, there is something wrong with the stock market. I can’t put my finger on it exactly, but most people know that unless you can afford to lose money, you need to stay away, and there is such a thing as a qualified investor.

High interest rates on credit are a reflection of the greed that permeates society. People who are not in a position to repay often default, and the high interest rates are an attempt to compensate. But they are usually far higher than necessary because lenders are greedy. Property tax laws are also fuel for greed, because when you don’t pay the tax, which is being used for the benefit of strangers you never met, for programs which are none of the government’s business (police and courts excepted), and people who pay tax liens gain value they do not deserve. They are taking advantage of people who cannot afford to pay what they shouldn’t have to pay in the first place. In states like mine, someone who pays a tax lien can get the entire equity in a home, way above what he spent to buy the lien, and the homeowner is kicked into the street with nothing. Big banks and powerful people enrich themselves over this.

Greed also fuels pharmaceutical companies and big agriculture which provide products that are clearly harmful, defraud people while claiming a benefit, and pollute our bodies and the earth. Protection by government is fueled by greed on the part of politicians. It is really common for a beneficial solution to be ignored and even suppressed, and replaced by something seriously harmful. Why do people always choose the least beneficial solution to a problem?

Abortion and euthanasia are fueled by greed. The “services” are provided by the greedy, who give harm to the recipients in return. Moreover, we have a duty to the unborn and the dependent family member, and we shirk that to their detriment and our own. And society pays the cost in lost productivity and wisdom. We are all made in the image of God, and only God has the right to decide when to end the life of the innocent. Abortion is fueled by men who want something that doesn’t belong to them: access to the body of a woman for whom he has no rights. These far outnumber the husband who wants his wife’s body while being unwilling to cherish her and their children. Disobedience to one of the Ten Commandments leads to disobedience to others: thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor (covering fraudulent claims). Thou shalt not commit adultery, and honor your father and mother are other possible violations. Money and material goods and services become our god.

I am sure the readers can think of other ways in which we turn our face and ignore covetousness and you are welcome to tell me about them in the comments.

Do you see how pervasive the problem is? I hope this makes you more aware, if you were not already. For those of you who were and try to do something about it, my heartiest best wishes. You’re on our side.

Exceptions

Not everything that may seem like covetousness really is. I give a few examples.

One obvious exception to all of this are various contests in which you have to do something, usually creative in nature, and a few people get a prize for excellence. You are actually providing a service, and the sponsor is using his own resources to pay the winners. I don’t have a problem with these. They often offer incentives besides money. The ones I participate in most often are like that. It spurs me to be creative and productive. I am not taking anything from anyone else, because nobody put up any money, unless their is an entrance fee. If the fee is nominal. I don’t mind paying for it. If I cannot afford the fee, I don’t enter. What is the difference?: I am actually doing something beneficial to gain the hope of winning. Unlike things that arise out of covetousness, I am giving value for value.

Another exception is starting your own business. There is a risk involved. But in so doing, you are seeking to provide something of value to those who pay for your efforts. You may put up your own money, or someone who is interested in providing a good or service for pay is putting it up. Some people think starting your own business is a gamble. I would say that’s not quite accurate. It is risky, but it is not a gamble. You should assess the market and see if there is a need. If you don’t do your own due diligence, the onus is on you, not some innocent third party. Starting your own business is an important part of what we do in our culture.

Conclusion

We don’t think of the many ways in which covetousness and greed permeate our society. I hope you have become more aware, and you do your part to root this out of our culture. You will think you are giving up something important to you in doing so. Believe me, you are not. You stand only to benefit. Any claims to the contrary are outright fraud. The commandment not to covet may seem frivolous and unnecessary because it is just a thought crime. I hope in reading this you have learned that it is not. It leads to destructive behavior. Please join me in restoring integrity to our nation. Stop the fraud that arises out of greed.