Gambling On Their Future
Next year will mark the 10th
anniversary of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita ravaging upon the city of New
Orleans which is still disheveled from affects of the destructive waves.
Recalling that time, if not so sad, it would be humorous when you size
up New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin who proposed his plan for rebuilding the
distressed city. The papers quoted, “Now
is the time for us to think out of the box.”
Nagin said, “Now is the time for some bold leadership, some decisive
leadership.” What was his decisive plan,
you might ask! Gambling! If you had
asked my opinion, someone should have tapped Nagin on the Noggin’.
Joe McKeever, Director of New Orleans
Special Projects said,
“Nagin was quoted in the paper citing Scripture, amazingly 2 Chronicles 7:14
which is the passage about repenting and turning from our evil ways to get
God’s healing. Now he calls for
widespread gambling. Gambling- the last
corrupt idea of a dead brain cell. Oh?
We can’t get any legitimate businesses going? I know- let’s gamble.”
Call me crazy, but it doesn’t take a
historian to reveal that gambling doesn’t center your city on the best
foundation. Think Pottersville in, “It’s A Wonderful
Life.” While on the surface, it might
seem like a reasonable plan to jump-start a fledgling economy, what lies below
the iceberg has “Titanic”
implications. After all, is it really
wise to attempt to restore one person’s life while ravaging another’s? Consider
the following:
1) Gambling fosters addictions:
There are 12 million gambling addicts in
the United States, 96% of which began their
gambling before the age of
14. Since the average
gambling addict has a debt of $80,000, it seems
state-sponsored gambling
only condones that behavior and breeds harm
to future generations.
2)
Gambling
hurts the poor: One New York lottery agent stated, “Seventy
percent of those who buy my tickets are poor.”
A National Bureau of Economic Research, “shows that the poor bet a much
larger share of their income.” Studies
also indicate that gambling increases when economic times are uncertain and
people are concerned about their future.
3)
Gambling
damages families: Families are torn apart by strife, divorce,
and bankruptcy. Boydon Cole and Sidney
Margolius in their book, When You
Gamble-You Risk More Than Your Money, conclude- “There is no doubt of the
destructive effect of gambling on the family life including white-collar and
blue-collar families.”
4)
Gambling
ruins businesses: Legalized gambling depresses businesses because
it diverts money that could have been spent in the capital economy, into
gambling, which does not stimulate the economy.
Money that could be invested, loaned, and recycled through the economy
is instead risked in a legalized gambling scheme. More money is wagered on gambling than is
spent on elementary and secondary education ($286 billion versus $213 billion
several years back).
5)
Gambling
denigrates morals: Government should promote public virtue not
seduce its citizens to gamble. Gambling
breeds greed. A person is seven times
more likely to be killed by lightning than he is to win a million dollars in a
state lottery.
I was talking to a connection who lives in
New Orleans recently and the city continues to flounder, though much time has
passed since the devastating hit a few years back. Frankly, Mayor Nagin’s policy of repentance
and returning to God was a far greater strategy than gambling on their
future. When that happens, God is always
willing to give wisdom and guarantees the fact that he will bring “forgiveness
and healing” to our land. Now that’s
something you can bet on.
Terry Risser
Reflections:
1)
How
does gambling overtake a person’s life?
2)
Do
you face anything similar which elicits the adrenal gland (food, sexual areas,
thrills, etc)? Take them to the Lord
today.
Consider reading the Word today:
Copyright 2014- Terry Risser
No comments:
Post a Comment