Mega-Million Craze, Gambling, and the Confession of Faith

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I like the way Johannes Vos put it many decades ago with an analogy. Gambling is to theft as dueling is to murder. Just because the parties consent to the act does not make the act moral. In the case of the lottery, you have millions of individuals consenting with the State in the act of theft.
 
Out of curiosity. Would the Heart and Stroke lottery tickets count as gambling?

1) Reasonable odds of winning something (1 in 3)
2) So many winners, you don't become famous if you do win
3) Most prizes are like kitchen appliances, but there are a few cars, and million dollar prizes
4) All the profits go to the Heart and Stroke Foundation

Is it a win win fundraiser for a good cause? Or am I trying to weasel around the obvious fact that it is gambling?
 
I have my home version of the lottery/gambling. I deposit my pocket change in a container, when I have it. I take it to the bank, once a year, and claim the winning ticket from the big slot machine in the bank. I hit every time :)
 
Out of curiosity. Would the Heart and Stroke lottery tickets count as gambling?

1) Reasonable odds of winning something (1 in 3)
2) So many winners, you don't become famous if you do win
3) Most prizes are like kitchen appliances, but there are a few cars, and million dollar prizes
4) All the profits go to the Heart and Stroke Foundation

Is it a win win fundraiser for a good cause? Or am I trying to weasel around the obvious fact that it is gambling?

The sin is in how the heart takes it. Does it encourage or prey off of greed? Does it encourage bad views of God's sovereignty, providence and care? Might it lead others to do these things?

It doesn't sound as bad as high-payoff lotteries. But if I were fundraising for a good cause, I hope I would avoid tactics that might lead to these things. I'd prefer to stay away from a fundrasing technique of this sort.
 
I have my home version of the lottery/gambling. I deposit my pocket change in a container, when I have it. I take it to the bank, once a year, and claim the winning ticket from the big slot machine in the bank. I hit every time :)

Several years ago, I was visiting a friend in West Virginia whose father was watching the news each evening. I noticed that when the winning lottery numbers came up (for the "Pick 3" game), he would take a piece of paper and make a mark on it. I finally asked him what he was doing. He told me that he didn't play the lottery, but if he did, he knew what 3 numbers he would pick. Every evening he would watch the news and when those numbers didn't come up, he would make a mark on the paper. He was keeping track of the money he was saving by not playing the lottery. And he was saving A LOT.
 
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