"Thou shalt not covet." Exodus 20:17 "For I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content." Philippians 4:11

There is only one reason that a person favors gambling and lotteries - "love of money." "The love of money is the root of all evil." (I Timothy 6:10) Lotteries are "entry level" gambling. A lottery is covetousness in its simplest form. A person who purchases a lottery ticket covets the money of all other ticket buyers. A lottery advocate has "money" as his god. God said we are not to be covetous but rather to be content. Lotteries and gambling are legal in thirty-seven of our fifty states.

Lotteries are marketed as "making money for education." The fact is that while some lottery money goes for education, the regular budget in a state for education is decreased. Overall, less money is spent on education in almost every state. The upcoming referendum on a lottery in Tennessee will not fund education but only college scholarships for a few.

Dr. John Kindt, Professor of Commerce at the University of Illinois says, "Gambling is a catalyst for economic downturn." The billions spent on gambling are not placed into the economy for labor, production, and purchasing goods. Gambling does not produce income or a product. It merely transfers income from the many to the few.

Lotteries are counter-productive to a state’s income. For every $1 earned in gambling revenue to the state, $3 is spent on social problems caused by gambling. Plus, for every $1 gained by a state through a lottery, $2 must be paid on administering and advertising the lottery. These are indisputable facts.

A Christian must oppose a state operated lottery because of a lottery’s impact on the poor. This is the most insidious part of state operated lotteries. Lotteries are most strongly marketed in the poorest areas of a city and state. Every study shows that the lowest income areas spend much more of their income on lotteries than any other sector of society. Lotteries are advertised as the hope and "way out" of poverty. The statistics show that people with household incomes of $10,000 bet more than twice in lotteries than households with incomes of $50,000. In Zip Codes of upper incomes, states place one lottery machine per 17,000 residents. In middle class Zip Codes, one lottery machine is placed per 5,000 residents. In Zip Codes of the lowest income residents one lottery machine is placed per 2,000 residents. Lotteries target the poor. Lotteries are a tax on the poorest of a society.

God’s Word commands labor and diligence, but lotteries advocate luck. Lotteries destroy homes and lives and produce very few winners and millions of losers.

God’s Word encourages us to be content rather than covetous. "Content" literally means "within yourself." You are content when you are satisfied with Jesus Who lives in you with His promises of an eternal Heaven and His daily provision which supplies all your needs. What more could we ask? Be content with what God has given you.