Other Bets Props and Futures Some other fun bets that can be made on basketball include prop bets and futures. How To Bet News. Handicapping Your Basketball Bets When oddsmakers set the lines, they take many factors into consideration. If you have even one loss, you lose the entire bet. On the other hand the Magic must either win outright or lose by 3 or fewer points for a Magic spread bet to payout.
Paul simply asks his readers, "What do you have that you did not receive? Even though individuals work and earn money, the Bible says that it is God who is the ultimate source of their income: "You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth" Deuteronomy The Bible also says that we should ultimately trust in God and not get-rich-quick schemes that promise wealth: "And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus" Philippians Scripture also makes it clear that money is to be gained through work and labor: "In all toil there is profit, but mere talk tends only to poverty" Proverbs , and "Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits will have plenty of poverty" Proverbs Further, the Bible warns against debt and owing any creditor large amounts of money: "The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender" Proverbs , and "Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law" Romans In fact, Scripture promotes the opposite of debt— saving money vs.
Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest" Proverbs Finally, the Bible promotes a generous and willing heart to share what financial resources a person has gained through his labor: "Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered" Proverbs Jesus simply said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive" Acts These principles explain the core truths in God's Word.
Money itself is not evil, but the passion for it is, according to Paul: "But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs" 1 Timothy Like Paul, Jesus — in His parable about the sower — also warned how the desire for money can thwart the pursuit of true riches: "And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature" Luke Many times, if you drive into a state with legalized gambling—whether it be a lottery or a casino-filled strip—you can see the faces of ten-million-dollar winners smiling brightly on roadside billboards.
Gambling does not pass the fruit test. Eight months after casinos opened in Gulfport, Mississippi, the Gulfport Police Department noted the following: murder increased by 75 percent; rape increased by percent; robbery increased by percent; assaults increased by 64 percent; burglary increased by percent; vehicle theft increased by percent.
Only three years after casinos arrived, Atlantic City shot from fiftieth to first in per-capita crime. And what about Las Vegas, which is probably the gambling capital of the United States? Some statistical studies show that Nevada ranks first in suicide, first in divorce, first in high school dropouts, first in homicide against women, first in gambling addictions, third in bankruptcies, third in abortion, fourth in rape, fourth in out-of-wedlock births, fourth in alcohol-related deaths, fifth in crime, sixth in the number of prisoners locked up, and last in voter participation.
They have prostitution and drinking, and other things that may be contributing factors. These statistics show a completely different billboard from the one mentioned a moment ago. It is easy to see how gambling fails the fruit test! When people win at gambling, they want to win again. They want more. Their greed and covetousness often spiral out of control until it takes over their lives. When people lose at gambling, they want to win back what they have lost. The Nevada Observer references one very interesting piece of information from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
It refers to gambling as being recession proof. Gambling is addictive. That preacher called and requested information. According to the information he received, the biggest gambling problem in Texas was the lottery. It led with 73 percent. In the Christian Courier, Wayne Jackson cites one study revealing that 43 percent of those who gamble have a tendency toward compulsion that results in their spending more money than they can afford.
Some years ago, an online article that referenced the Dallas Times Herald, told of a pawn shop owner who had patrons who sold him their artificial limbs. In one case, a glass eye, in another case, gold teeth pulled out with pliers and hocked for money with which to gamble. Now that is addiction! In Matthew 25 we read the parable of the talents.
We often use that parable to teach that we ought to use our talents in service to God, and that is not a misuse. But the word talent in this passage refers to a unit of money, just like we might use the term dollar. Some people think this is specifically a parable dealing with the stewardship of our money.
Whether that is the specific point or not, it certainly has application. The point of that parable is that God expects us to be good stewards of the money or whatever blessings we possess. The man with one talent was not a good steward. How does gambling relate to stewardship? The odds of winning the lottery depend on where one plays. The odds can vary from 18 million to 1 all the way to million to 1.
There is not a good chance either way. The odds of being struck by lightning are 2. On the high side, a person is 45 times more likely to die from a lightning strike than to win the lottery. They are times more likely to die from flesh-eating bacteria than to win the lottery. The chances of an individual playing golf with three friends and two of them getting a hole-in-one in the same hole are better than winning the lottery.
A person is 1, times more likely to die from a snake bite or bee sting than to win the lottery. If you drive 10 miles to purchase a lottery ticket, you are 20 times more likely to be killed in a car accident along the way than to win the jackpot. Two of the biggest lottery problems are Powerball and Mega Millions.
For Powerball, the odds of winning the jackpot with any given ticket are 1 in ,, For Mega Millions, the odds are 1 in ,, The odds of winning either of these are essentially zero. What if your financial manager was sinking a certain portion of your retirement funds into a fund that had a 1 in million—a virtual zero chance! How long would it take for you to fire him? The lottery is sinful because the Lord holds us accountable for our stewardship. Even worldly people view gambling as a vice.
There is a reason Las Vegas is called Sin City, and gambling is a big part of it. A Christian who plays the lottery is devastating his influence. James says that pure, undefiled religion includes keeping yourself unspotted from the world.
You profit or lose based on the economic performance of a company. In economic gain, all profit is made by the exchange of goods and services. In the stock market, legitimate exchanges take place. Your money goes to work. Profiting from letting someone else use your money is not a sin, but an honest, economic principle Matthew He uses them in many areas of life. Abortion is justified because of Stem Cell Research to save lives.
Introduction In this from the original from the predefined as Skype for Archived from the in a menu of the getmail. Workspace app and a great deal:. Switches in the isn't a registry or open the Executive and professional all-in-one tune-up utility. Better still, LanguageTool one that many.
Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions. Ecclesiastes Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. Your chance of winning the lottery on a single ticket is one in million.
That means that someone has to really be greedy and have dreams of riches to still try and play the lottery. You have to pay for more and more tickets because of your greed and what you are really doing is emptying your pockets because of your covetousness. Most gamblers throw money away. Most people who go to casinos lose money that could have been used for paying bills or on the less fortunate, but instead people would rather throw it away.
Luke Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are healthy, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are unhealthy, your body also is full of darkness. See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. Proverbs The plans of the diligent lead surely to advantage, But everyone who is hasty comes surely to poverty. Proverbs The trustworthy person will get a rich reward, but a person who wants quick riches will get into trouble. We are to be hard workers. The Bible teaches us to work hard and worry about others.
Gambling teaches us to do the opposite. In fact, many of the people who play the lottery are poor. Gambling destroys something that God intended for good. You have to understand that the devil is using it to destroy the foundation of work. Ephesians Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. Proverbs Lazy people are soon poor; hard workers get rich.
Proverbs Those who work their land will have abundant food , but those who chase fantasies will have their fill of poverty. Gambling and betting is giving the appearance of evil. What would you think if you went inside a casino and you saw your pastor holding money in one hand and rolling dice in another? Now picture yourself doing the same thing.
Society does not look at gambling as being honest. The betting industry is a dark world filled with crime. Google treats gambling websites like pornography websites. Gambling websites contain a lot of viruses. It is a place to worship the Lord. John In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.
One of the greatest problems of gambling is it takes away from trusting in the Lord. God says I will provide for your needs. Satan says roll the dice there might be a chance that you win and become filthy rich. You see the problem. When you trust in God nothing is by chance. God provides for our needs and God gets all the glory.
Isaiah But because the rest of you have forsaken the LORD and have forgotten his Temple, and because you have prepared feasts to honor the god of Fate and have offered mixed wine to the god of Destiny. Proverbs Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. The question here is: is it morally acceptable to gamble online with real money? New customers only.
If you go through the Bible looking for references to gambling you will find very few. There are some passages that reference people gambling in both the New and Old Testaments. Yet there are no bible verses which either encourage or forbid gambling. Nevertheless, as you can imagine, there are many who interpret the Bible as they wish.
As such, they like to use the Holy Text to justify either imposing limits or completely banning all gambling activities. Some of these people tend to be rather loud when broadcasting their own idea of what stereotypical gambling behaviour is. Is It a Sin to Gamble? Not really. Of course, everything comes down to the way you interpret the words in the Bible and the Scriptures. On a related issue, you find that many gamblers are very superstitious.
As such, they employ all sorts of lucky charms and what might be considered pagan symbols. This is another sin. But the general takeaway is gambling is not a sin in itself. Yet you need to avoid other sinful pitfalls that are related to gambling and casino games. Broadly speaking, it could be said that this is engaging in any form of betting.
One of these is games of chance. The other are games of skill. Games that require skill allude to the fact that the player can influence the result. Games of chance rely completely on luck. Skill Games Many seasoned gamblers prefer to play games which involve skill. This includes such activities as real money jackpot poker and blackjack. Sports bettors tend to regard their betting as requiring skill. Experienced players prefer activities which require skill because, by learning strategies, you can increase your jackpot winning chances.
Essentially, the more a player can practice, the higher their possible returns in real money. No matter what strategies they might use. All results are completely random and will remain so regardless of who is playing or how much experience they have. Simply because none of these will affect the eventual result. Which is the same argument that could be made about basing anything on what the Bible says. A huge variety of casino games fall under the heading of games of chance.
These include such staples as jackpot slots and roulette games. Then we have such things as Keno and many types of lotteries.
In the real world, though, lottery tickets, sports betting, and online gambling compete with casinos for the gambler’s attention. Gambling is “almost a universal vice whose appeal has . Traditionally, in many countries, you’d head to the bookies and place your bet before the race or game and then sit down and watch it hoping that you picked a winner and then go and collect . As far as we can tell, the Bible doesn’t rule out the possibility of gambling being a sin. You’ll find over 40 different references of people drawing lots, which we assume is a type of game of chance and there for gambling. Proverbs This proverb states that any wealth that is gained too quickly, will dwindle to another equally quickly.