With the first round of the baseball playoffs are completed and with no local NHL or NBA games on I found myself searching for something to watch last night on TV. Usually when there isn’t a game on I will turn to the Law and Order franchise to get my fix of TV viewing, however last night I was drawn to watching the first hour of ESPN’s final table of the World Series of Poker. You can ask yourself the question; why I would watch a non Law and Order or a non sports event show especially one that glorifies gambling and all the inherent evil that gambling brings. The answer comes not from the card playing but rather from the way the eventual winner conducted himself. Jerry Yang the winner of the WSOP is a born again believer and follower of Jesus Christ. I found myself appalled and thrilled that the name of Jesus was being invoked last night not in a derogatory fashion but rather is in an uplifting fashion. I was appalled because here was the name of Jesus being associated with gambling but I was thrilled because the person invoking His name was demonstrating the love of Christ in all of his actions. Even Jerry’s parents, who forbade him from playing cards as a youth, were there and they to, along with his wife were glorifying and praising the name of Jesus not only as Jerry won hand after hand but even as the consoled the families and the other men who Jerry defeated.
I am not so sure I want a generation of young men and women taking up poker in the name of Jesus; I am sure however of the fact that as Jesus has called us to go and make disciples of all nations. And just as He would eat and drink with sinners so must we even if that means playing a game or two of poker.
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3 comments:
Christians can and should glorify Jesus in anything they do. It is good to hear that has happened in this instance. Now I have an excuse to watch the WSOP.
I was amused at your comment about being appalled with Jesus being associated with gambling. As with most things in life, it is what is in the heart when doing something that makes it a problem for Christians. I can sin driving home from work or eating dinner.
I do not see playing Texas Hold-em for entertainment or competition as wrong. It becomes wrong when it becomes an obsession or addiction that takes us away from seeking God.
It is no different from playing Fantasy Football for entertainment and competition. You are taking your knowledge and ‘gambling’ that your selections are the right ones for that week.
Any competition can be glorifying to God or obsessively bad. And speaking of competition glorifying to God,
Go Colorado Rockies!!
What a perceptive analysis, I agree completely. I know of some churches who preach that even going to a casino is an egregious sin against God. Susceptibility to addiction and a method to satisfy covetous desires are usually cited as the main reasons. What activity is totality immune to these criteria? I think what we have here is a form of selective piety. Gambling is considered a social stigma so we should include it in the category of blatant sin. Hypocritically, credit cards, which ruin far more lives, are not social stigmas and therefore are completely acceptable.
It’s your clear and reflective thinking and not social / cultural influences that best serve to glorify God.
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