1. Gambling Spirituality Definition
2. Gambling Addiction And Spirituality
3. Gambling Spirituality Quotes

Probably you are wondering if gambling is wrong or right in religion. The question here is the view of gambling in Islam, Christianity, Hindu or any other religion.

In 2012, the United Methodist Church declared that, “Gambling is a menace to society, deadly to the best interests of moral, social, economic and spiritual life.” What adds urgency to their concern are research findings that indicate that more people suffer the easier it is to gamble. “Signing up” or registering for a free gift is not gambling. It merely puts a person in a position to receive something that is to be given away, and this is the donor’s way of selecting the recipient. However, in the case of gambling, a person is taking chances with hard-earned money. I believe gambling is addictive for many people because risk-taking is a necessary and healthy part of relationship with God. As spiritual beings, we were made to gamble. We need to take risks. A life without risks, a life where you never “put yourself out there,” is a boring life. From that mindset, one’s access to spirituality is gambling. This is illustrated in the Mahabharata when the conflict between the Pandavas and the Kauravas began with gambling. Judgment of one another was then determined by a roll of the dice, which in turn, led to the dynamic of life, represented in the Mahabharata.

After reading this you may want to leave your thoughts below. Different religions have different advice about gambling. Let’s first start by describing what gambling is before you read my argument with a young man I met.

Gambling refers to any situation or game that has money involved and the outcome is uncertain. It means you are not sure of the end results so you are gambling.

A friend argued with me that in business when you buy something at a low price, you expect to sell it at a higher price, right?

Now, look at it this way – You are never certain of selling your good but you hope that someone will come along and buy them. Is that not gambling?

While gambling in Islam and Christianity is defined as obtaining undeserved money then why can’t business people not be honest enough, look at a customer and say “look I bought this thing for 12USD. I’m going to sell it for 20USD”.

Again, look at it this way, when a businessman sells his goods at 12USD, it means he bought them in bulk at a lower price so that you may have a piece at a slightly higher price to cover for his expenses.

So in this case you are not gambling because if the customer only needs one piece, then the businessman is of great help. I just need one laptop to write this. What if I had to buy 10 just to use one? Will it be justified? Definitely not.

In this case, the business owner is not gambling but delivering your goods at your doorstep. He deserves the pay. In fact, you should give him a thank you for delivering your needs.

The difference is, in business, the outcome is certain and you deserve the pay. Now, look at my friend’s concern. He still challenged me that if he knows a team will definitely win and he decides to place his money on that team. Is that gambling?

He is sure the team will win and definitely, he is using his money to stake on it. He then goes ahead to declare that in that case he is not gambling but he is sure of an outcome just like a businessman is certain of the outcome. In this case, is he still gambling?

Now he goes ahead and breaks it down for me as I listen. Felix, business is a gamble. Life in its self is a gamble because you are not promised tomorrow. Only Allah (SWT), God knows what will happen tomorrow right?

At this point, I’m nodding in agreement and I really don’t know what to say. In simple terms, if you are a businessman and you buy goods for sale, you are hoping to sell.

You don’t know if someone may come to steal or tomorrow something may change and your goods will no longer be relevant.

You are therefore gambling with the goods you are buying in wholesale while projecting your retail sales.

That’s why in business there are profits and losses. If business was not a gamble, then we will be talking of profits all the time with no losses at all.

Gambling Spirituality Definition

Felix, you travel every day, right? Yes. If you are traveling in a bus, train or airplane, are you sure that you are going to arrive safely or do you say a prayer hoping all goes well during your journey? The same thing applies in business as well as when you place a bet.

You are sure that a team is going to win. However, you hope and pray that there are no hiccups. He goes ahead and simplifies it for me.

This Wednesday 24^th of April, Manchester city is going to play Manchester United. We all know that Man-city is in good shape and they need this win to determine their position.

So they are definitely going to win unless the uncertain happens. The businessman is hoping to sell also unless something goes wrong.

“I’m not going to gamble on this brother. I’m going to place my money on man city and I know I’m going to get my cash. I have not stolen from anyone or done anything to offend anybody. I live on this earth and I need to survive”

A few days after that talk, Man City had won and he told me he had his money intact. He looks at me and smiles. At this point I’m confused.

He then asked me, now tell me the difference between me and the guy who sells eggs.

He hopes his eggs do not break while on transit after buying them in bulk. If they get safe to the shop well and good. If anything happens, he lives to fight another day.

Now I had to share his argument so that you may give me your thoughts based on what this guy is talking about.

Gambling Addiction And Spirituality

I still don’t have an answer, to be honest. I don’t want to take any side since I also need to get a good ground to argue when I meet him.

Gambling Spirituality Quotes

Is gambling a sin according to you? share your comments below.