It wasn’t until yesterday morning that I realized just how ignorant I am about America’s lust for gambling.
I knew, of course, that millions of people would bet on the Super Bowl. I’ve never done such a thing, but at least I recognize the competitive allure of trying to win something by chance rather than by hard work.
Some of you perhaps have bet on the game in the past. I’ll leave it to the Lord to speak to your heart on that one. I’m certain, though, that any winnings that came your way were not the result of God’s favor but instead were ungodly incentives to prompt further gambling.
What blew me away yesterday was the news that America’s lust for gambling is so rampant that thousands of people gambled on whether Christina Aguilera’s singing of the national anthem would be under 1 minute 54 seconds or over that amount of time.
I’m not making this up.
By now, you’ve probably heard that she messed up the words of the song, not just in turning one-syllable words into entire, warbled paragraphs, but also with leaving out part of the song.
Here’s an excerpt from a news article about the song and the betting associated with it:
“Some bettors thought that they should immediately get their money back because the prop bet relies on the singer to actually sing the right words. Others had a problem with the timing. The over/under bet settling at 1 minute and 54 seconds from time Aguilera opened her mouth to the time she finish. Bodog’s official time was 1:53:7, meaning that those who took the under won. But bettors on Twitter were telling me that Bookmaker.com was paying out for the over.
“Sportsbook.com spokesman Mike Pierce told CNBC early Monday that it had timed out Aguilera’s anthem at both 1:53 and 1:54 and was going to make a determination sometime on Monday.
“It’s unclear what the discrepancy seems to be, but it might be the fact that Aguilera added the word “oh” after she sang the word “Brave.”
To me, this is an unbelievable waste of time and money by thousands on something so insignificant in the big picture of life.
And we wonder why our economy is in such a mess.
When I read this article and when I thought of people I know who see gambling almost as gardening, my heart was pained.
I’m am prayiing that God open my eyes to ways that I can more effectively teach against gambling. I’m not as sharp in this respect as I need to be in order to provide the shepherding influence needed by the people in my circle of influence.
I hope that I will be within the near future. For people keep throwing money away in all sorts of ways, particularly with the lottery.
Please, my friend, don’t gamble.
Do the sure things.
Tithe as God commands.
Pay your monthly bills.
Pay off debts with money that you are tempted to gamble away.
Save.
Give to those in need, not to those in greed.
These things are sure to please the Father.
As always, I love you
Martin
