The Devil's Snare
July 29, 2010 • By Ed Wrather
07.29.10
But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. - 1 Timothy 6:9-11.
Abstain from every form of evil. - 1 Thessalonians 5:22.
In Dona Ana County in New Mexico, sheriff deputies heard a new story when they found a man with no clothes trying to get a ride. The man also had severe burns over much of his body. Thankfully, for this man the deputies found him, and he was airlifted to a Texas burn center. The man related to the deputies that he was drinking with some friends, and they all made a bet. The bet was that whoever drank the least number of beers would be set on fire by the others. He lost, since he only drank six beers, so he paid up. They started by trying to burn his prosthetic leg, which caused his clothing to catch on fire and he said that was why he took off his clothes. His so-called friends at first were going to take him to a hospital but became afraid that they might get into trouble and so they kicked him out and took off.
When you gamble, someone else must lose. The apostle Paul says in Philippians 2:4, "…each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others." The man who was burned was not looking out for the interests of others as someone else could have ended up like him, and his so-called friends certainly were not looking out for him either. Then there is the Golden Rule in Matthew 7:12 where Jesus says, "whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets." Surely, none of those men wanted to be set on fire! Setting this man on fire was an act of evil. Engaging in an act of gambling, which would result in someone being set on fire was an act of evil and we are to, "Abstain from every form of evil."
Of course, every time someone plays cards, throws the dice, or pulls the handle on a slot machine someone is not literally set on fire. However, someone does lose because either the house, as in the casino loses, or you lose. When you are betting against someone else, either they are losing money, or you are losing money; it is evil, it is wrong.
Why do people gamble? I know that some of you would say it is fun, it is an adventure, but what is it really that you want? What you really want out of gambling is, money. You want to suddenly have a lot of money. You want to be rich without actually earning the money. You have a burning desire to have more and more money. This is what Paul is saying in 1 Timothy when he says, "…those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition." You have been caught in one of the devil's snares and the ultimate outcome will be destruction, destruction of all that is good in your life and in the lives of those you love. Even if you never lose when you gamble you are still caught in a snare and are consumed with the "love of money," which is the "root of all kinds of evil." As long as you are caught in the devil's snare of gambling; there will be more evil things coming your way in life.
If you are a gambler, now is the time to cut your losses and walk away permanently before any more damage is done to your life by the devil's snare.
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