Is That Wise?
On the anniversary of Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel, Hamas launched rockets into Israel. Now, conventional wisdom would say, "If you're getting severely beaten, stay down and keep quiet." Apparently Hamas is more of a "Here I am! Kick me again!" kind of leadership.
Right Out of 1984
John Kerry has declared that a major roadblock for the US is ... the 1st Amendment. If we could just get rid of that pesky free speech and freedom of religion nonsense, we could really get moving on the mind control plans to eliminate opposition among the people. Don't worry, Mr. Kerry, a lot of people agree that their opponents should not have free speech ... and religion is right out.
It Figures
The MegaMillions Lotto is raising the cost of tickets to $5. I have never bothered, so it's no skin off my nose, but is anyone surprised that hyperinflation (250%) is hitting the lottery? Even greed is getting more expensive.
Free Enterprise?
A federal judge has ordered Google to open the Android app store to all. Mind you, Apple has had a tight grip on their version forever. I know because I've tried to write apps for them. It's not easy ... or cheap. But, the government is now in the business of forcing businesses to allow others to take their profits in a potentially dangerous manner that will undoubtedly leave Google to blame when some app steals private information. I mean, what could go wrong? I won't be holding my breath waiting for the courts to force Apple to ease up.
Victory And Defeat
For literally years now Jack Phillips has been in court in Colorado. He's the Christian baker who claimed that his religious beliefs precluded him celebrating "gay marriage" or "transgenderism." (Why both? Because once they found out the first one, they targeted him rather than avoiding him.) Colorado's Supreme Court dismissed another lawsuit this week against Phillips (Yay!) not on the fact of that the 1st Amendment demands it, but on procedural grounds (Boo!). Phillips continues to be harassed and intimidated for his beliefs and his adherence to them, and the courts both give him relief and dodge the question. Disappointing.
Anti-Democratic
Trump questioned the results of an election and is castigated as "an existential threat to democracy." Walz says, "The Electoral College needs to go," and that's ... patriotic? The Electoral College is brought to you by the Constitution. Why isn't he labeled "an existential threat to the Constitution"? The Electoral College gives a voice to minorities like Wyoming or other places of lower populations where most of our "democratic" world is driven purely by population centers, erasing completely the voice of the "little guy." But, you go with that. Trump is the threat and "delete the Constitution" is the promising voice. Hmm ... I guess I am "anti-Democratic" if "Democratic" means "of the Democrats."
In an Upside-Down World
Singer Garth Brooks was openly accused of rape, an accusation he says is "a shakedown." He did what the legal system allows; he filed suit against his accuser. Apparently a woman naming a man who she says (true or not) raped her is good (and I don't think otherwise), but naming a woman who is lying in order to rob the man is bad. Tell me that's not an upside-down way of thinking. I'm all for protecting victims, but if the law doesn't arrest the man and she chooses to publicly name him, why should she retain anonymity?
Fake News You Can Trust
The report went under the radar, but apparently a polygraph machine exploded after Tim Walz passed it. Strange. Elsewhere, with hurricanes in the news, a controversy has erupted around the evidence that a Jew in Galilee had the ability to control the weather. Really something to examine.
Must be true; I read it on the Internet.
Is That Wise?
ReplyDeleteIf this isn't proof of the single-mindedness of islamic Jew-hatred, I don't know what does.
Right Out of 1984
Hearing this type of thing out of the left seems more common these days. Tim Walz made some anti-1A comments recently, and I'm sure I've heard it from someone else, but can't recall who it was. That any American would say it all...ever...is astounding to me.
It Figures
"Greed"? Is that the only reason one would wager?
This is the only game I play. There was a very brief period where how many tickets I bought was based on how badly my week went. But I shook that off and buy one ticket twice a week (there are two drawings every week) on the belief that if God is cool on me having greater wealth than I do, He doesn't need me to buy more than that to allow me to win.
Free Enterprise?
I don't understand any of this.
Victory And Defeat
I'm told by one who re-writes Scripture that the Alphabet Mafia are historically oppressed members of his beloved community. It's clear we must assimilate or feel their wrath. The courts surely fear it.
Anti-Democratic
Going back to at least Obama, there are so many ways the Dems poop on the Constitution. They have ALWAYS been the real threat, and continue to be so.
In an Upside-Down World
Trump absolutely feels Brooks' pain.
Is That Wise?
ReplyDeleteI've found the "two-state solution" to be idiotic, but maybe if the Left gets their way and there are two states, maybe they will finally see that it isn't about the oppressed fighting their oppressors, but of one group wishing the total annihilation of the other.
Right Out Of 1984
They are slowly just coming right out and telling us that America needs to be remade into their image where the only acceptable ideas are allowed by them, oh and those will always be changing because the progress of Progressivism has no end.
It Figures
You really know the economy has gone really bad when even gambling costs more because the costs of the organization has increased that much.
Free Enterprise?
I've never owned an Apple product, partly because of their extreme proprietary ways. But no, let's crack down on Android instead. I wonder who got paid what for that deal.
Victory And Defeat
You have to give Jack some props for hanging in it this long. Most people would have either moved or found a different profession by now.
Anti-Democratic
He can get away with saying stuff like that because most people don't know much about the Constitution and how and why it was set up the way it was. We've reached a point where more and more people are calling for a complete rewrite of the Constitution.
In An Upside-Down World
We are still seeing the aftershocks of the faults of the MeToo movement. And then people wonder why more and more younger men are simply removing themselves from the dating pool.
Fake News You Can Trust
Certainly glad I'm in the good graces of that particular Jew from Galilee.
Marshal, you ask if greed is the only reason to gamble, as if it isn't, and then proceed to explain that the desire for more money is the reason you play. You claim it is a game you play, but what benefit do you gain from it when you lose? When someone plays a sport or a video game or a board game, when they lose, they still get some benefit from it. With gambling in the lottery, what gain is there in losing? What lesson did you learn to make yourself better at life, at playing that game, or in any way? If you win, do you gain anything besides money? All you're doing is helping make the lottery company money, and what do they do to better society? How many lotto winners have come out the other end better versions of themselves? I just don't see even the fun in knowingly throwing my money away at something I have no control over and which nearly 100 percent of the time produces no benefit for myself or my community.
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting discussion. I'd be lying if I said I'd never gambled or played the lottery, because I have. What's strange is that I've always felt uncomfortable with the lottery. I think that I resonate with your concerns that there is literally nothing gained from playing it, and losing. On my last cruise I played a little bit of Blackjack, and I can say that I at least got entertainment and mental stimulation out of the experience if nothing else. I have no desire to play regularly, but as something different while on vacation it was entertaining.
DeleteBut the lottery, not so much. I'm not saying I'll never buy a ticket again, but I'm also not going to pretend that licking some numbers and watching a drawing adds anything to my life.
I do agree with Art that it's ultimately in YHWH's hands and it's possible that He'd allow me to win as a "punishment".
This might be one of those matters of personal conscience, but I have always heard that gambling and games of chance are discouraged for the Christian because they essentially issue from and perpetuate the love of money. Also, it entails a dishonorable desire and hope of getting something that was not earned and feeds greed and covetousness. Additionally, it is a reckless use of resources, since the gambler almost always loses against the house.
DeleteI recall when I was a brand-new Christian (age 20), and there was a car raffle at my place of work. I very much needed a car, so I purchased a ticket, thinking, “this is how God will provide the car I need” (I did not purchase multiple tickets, since God could honor that sole ticket perfectly). I did not win the car, and I was sorely disappointed that God did not fulfill my expectations and take care of my needs. I can only imagine that if I had won the car (and saw that as the way God works to provide for His children), how quickly I would be tempted to quit my job and pursue gambling full-time (afterall, I lived fairly close to Atlantic City, NJ, at a time when gambling spots were not as commonplace as they are now). As a form of entertainment, I enjoy card games and even speculative pursuits, but I would never tie money (or other resources) to the outcome due to the addictive nature of gambling.
Lorna,
DeleteI've always heard that the problem with gambling was that is shows a lack of trust in YHWH to do what he promised to do, provide for our needs. Having said that I'd be inclined to give people some grace on this, unless it was an obvious problem of gambling beyond one's means.
Craig, you offered yet another good reason, although it might be argued (wrongly, I would say) that the winnings might be God’s provision (as I thought regarding the car I needed). I do see how small winnings to start could feed a craving for bigger ones, and then that quest takes over. Many “problem gamblers” begin small and seem to have things under control, but then it can quickly get out of hand. We probably all know of people who found themselves with “the obvious problem of gambling beyond one’s means” that you mention; this would be especially true for gaming activities that rely less on skill and more on random chance to determine outcome. For me, since I have cultivated little skill at card-playing, etc., and dislike wasting money (as a resource entrusted to me by God)--either intentionally or by random chance--I do not dabble at all.
Delete"You claim it is a game you play, but what benefit do you gain from it when you lose?"
ReplyDeleteNothing much. I'm sure I could come up with something, but given the size of the loss it would require more effort than it's worth. I remain content to the extent I'm capable of being so with my life as it exists, so that's a good thing I suppose.
But as to the greed thing, one could say the same for every endeavor undertaken by man to earn. This is just another way of doing it. I don't risk having the lights and phone service cut off, nor do we go hungry. I enjoy the thrill of gambling, so it's no different than other things I do for fun, except that the thrill is enhanced with cash on the line. When I bowled regularly, I entered pots all the time. There's always a reward when having done something well. A cash reward is merely one among them, but one which can provide more options in life, not the least of which is passing some it along to others.
I can't speak for how the "lottery company" handles and dispenses the cash from losers. It didn't take very long to see that the state isn't putting efficiently to the use for which is was supposed to have been implemented. I also can't speak to the condition of the winners, though I know some blow their winnings, some share it, and others simply relieve themselves of certain stressors resulting from not having great wealth.
There's little great lasting benefit from playing any game that makes much difference in one's life. In gambling, there's a chance of lasting benefit regardless of how tiny that chance may be.
So getting back to the greed issue, earning in this way is no more greedy than by one's job, so long as one has the proper perspective. I enjoyed going to the race track, before the Chicago Bears bought the iconic Arlington International Racecourse and destroyed that pleasure forever. I didn't wager much dough, as I enjoyed watching the ponies run and I was enamored with the ambiance of the place. I think when Illinois allowed casinos in the state, horse racing took a huge hit from which it never recovered. Hawthorne is still in operation, but way too far for my tastes, especially since I was mere minutes from Arlington. But the casinos were cool if I felt like playing some Blackjack. For all of these cases, I never bet money I couldn't afford to lose. Sort of like when one goes to a Major League Baseball game.
But in any gambling endeavor, my hope is to win, because I'd prefer to have greater wealth to support my family, just as when I move from one job to a better paying one, or seek a raise from whomever my current employer may be. I know it's common for some to look down upon gambling with such a jaundiced eye, condescending to those who engage in it. There are many with a problem. I would wager (see what I did there?) that most with a gambling problem aren't motivated by greed. Of all the ways I could gamble, the lottery clearly has the lowest odds of success. That's OK. The payoff for such a small amount is a nice ROI. And while I'm sure I've in the red given all the various ways I've gambled, I've probably spent more for no more return than enjoyment on so many other things. I get enjoyment from gambling and sometimes money, too.
I wish I could do it more often. It's fun.
I've looked and looked and my Bible doesn't seem to have anything at all about gambling or "games of chance." Isn't that weird? Might just be my Bible. I do see multiple times when biblical characters threw lots, which is indeed a form of gambling, albeit not for money. So apparently not all "games of chance" are created equal.'
ReplyDeleteMOST people gamble for greed, but not all. The few times I've "gambled" it was with the sure and certain expectation that I would not gain any financially from it. It was intended as a brief entertainment. Successfully. I did suggest to God that, if He wanted to glorify Himself, He could let me win the lottery. Oh, no, not by me buying a ticket. It would have to be without me buying a ticket, a clear and obvious miracle. So far God hasn't taken me up on that suggestion. I can't figure out why.
I am waiting for those bags of gold coins to drop from the sky on my head, too! :)
DeleteI can't say I've ever heard someone equate playing the lotto with working before. I didn't mean to imply all gambling is wrong, however the lottery is on a different level than most gambling. Blackjack, or poker, or other "games of chance" can have enjoyment factors, clearly since you don't need to gamble to play them. Even horse racing, at least there's the enjoyment of watching the skill of rider and beauty of horse, and the social aspect. But the lotto is a beast all it's own. As for equating it to work, I simply cannot fathom the connection. Work is something you do to earn something else. The lotto is taking what you earned and putting it toward something you didn't. Don't take this as judgement, but as an encouragement to be a better steward with the gifts God has given you. We could all use that encouragement, as we all fail to be as good of stewards as we can be.
ReplyDelete