Here’s the latest from the crossroads of faith, media & culture: 03/06/23

Photo from Washington State’s Health Care Authority’s website page on Gambling Awareness Month.

Long known for its March Madness, this is also, appropriately enough, Problem Gambling Awareness Month. As the Founder and President of Timothy Plan, which for over 20 years has helped investors make decisions based on responsible biblical principles, Art Ally notes the casinos in our pockets are only making the problem more acute.

JWK: You see the ads for gambling on television as “predatory.”

Art Ally: Well, they really are. Anything that is addictive seems to be in vogue today. Gambling is as addictive as drugs and all of the other things that consume people. Gambling is a serious, serious problem and the fact that they’re promoting this helter skelter – relentlessly, it seems – just feeds into that. I mean how many people throw money away on these Lottos thinking they’re going to make the “big win?” – and they’re the least that can afford that in most cases. Gambling is a serious problem. I put a whole section in my biblical stewardship study guide on gambling and the addictive nature and how horrible the results are. I mean from spouse abuse to (you name it). People that are addicted to gambling have all  kinds of other issues and to have our culture promoting that just relentlessly…

JWK: Beyond Lotto it’s the casinos. You don’t have to physically go to a casino anymore to gamble. You can do it online.

AA: You can do that – sports gambling, I mean any kind of gambling feeds into this addictive nature. Not everybody’s addicted who does gambling but I’m gonna tell you something. I had a brother who was addicted to gambling and it destroyed him. I mean its an addiction that’s hard to explain. Why would we be playing into that when it’s so damaging to a person’s life?

JWK: As an investor how do you respond to the problem? I guess you just don’t invest in companies that profit from it.

AA: Well, you know what? We should weed out anybody who’s feeding into an addictive anything. Some people say investing is a form of gambling. That could not be further from the truth. I mean when you’re investing you actually own shares of profitable companies. You know, markets go up and markets go down but that doesn’t change the fact that you own shares of a profitable company. That’s much different than rolling the dice, buying a Lotto ticket or betting on some sports thing with the idea you’re gonna get a big hit. In my study, I even highlight a lady that was so addicted to gambling that was so addicted gambling she killed her child to collect the insurance money. I mean we’ve just got to come to grips with the fact that we have turned this culture upside down. Good is bad and bad is good. As a result of that people are living in a much more miserable condition than they would need to if they would just do it God‘s way.

JWK: How do you think we came to this point? I mean the government itself is addicted to gambling and the money that lotteries bring in.

AA: Not just the lottery but any kind of casinos and all that with the idea that it’s gonna be beneficial to the community with the additional revenues and better for education and all of this stuff that they try to feed us as being good when the reality, if anybody does a study, is anyplace gambling is installed – in any community – crime goes up (and) the culture of the community goes down. It is a horrible – what people call a – solution but it’s not a solution. It’s a problem. So, I am deadset against not just gambling (but) anything that’s addictive. If it’s addictive it’s not good, John!

JWK: But almost anything can be addictive, right?

AA: Well, it can be but, you know, the addictions (I’m talking about aren’t merely potentially obsessive hobbies but) are drugs and alcohol and all the rest of that. First, let me back up, if you don’t mind. I wrote a biblical stewardship study guide. (It’s) almost nine hours long (and contrasts) what The Bible says about handling money from cradle to grave to what the world is teaching us about how to handle money. Unfortunately, almost everybody gets their training on handling money from the world. When you’re talking about gambling, the core (supposed) benefit of gambling is the idea you’re gonna make a big hit and make a lot of money when, in fact, the statistics show that people lose money gambling. They don’t make money. You may get lucky once or twice but, over time, you are going to make yourself much poorer. Whether you’re a person that’s gambling (or) whether you’re a community that installs casino gambling or Lottos to really benefit everybody, the bottom line is it not only doesn’t benefit (anyone) it really (does) damage.

JWK: It seems to me that online gambling brings the problem to a whole new level. I mean if you have a gambling problem, you may be able to resist going to a casino or whatever but when it’s made available right on your phone or computer and you already have that problem that’s really predatory to me.

AA: Man, I couldn’t agree more. It’s just a sign of the times. We turned our back on God. Man’s way is the way we’re pursuing and man’s way never works. God’s way works, John! Every time! That’s why I did this biblical stewardship. I would just commend that study for people. I’ve done all the homework. We’ve got all the facts. We’ve got it all. We make it real easy. You can access it for free right on our website. It’s a resource that people really oughta take advantage of…To simply say “Don’t do it!” is silly because if they’re addicted you’re wasting your breath on somebody but for our culture and the media and everybody to just keep promoting this and making it sound like a wonderful thing, all that does is feed into these addictions and, John, that is never good.

JWK: What do you say to people who say “Live and let live. It’s their decision how they handle their money.” Do we have a responsibility to enact laws to help people avoid temptation and not fall into the addiction trap?

AA: You know, I guess you can’t force anybody to do anything. If they want to do something they’re gonna do it but what we could do is at least reestablish a baseline of a culture where good solid traditional family values are the foundation and all of that has kind of been ripped apart today. John, if you have a gambling problem, I can’t convince you not to do it but what I can do is maybe tone down some of the encouragement that’s on the public airwaves and all that can lead you into that. But, you know, the bottom line is God gave us free will. People can do whatever they want to do. If they want to destroy themselves with any addiction, they’re free to do that but, if we kind of enable that through our making all of this stuff sound so great, that is our problem.

JWK: Addiction is, more or less, the opposite of freedom, right? I mean if you can draw up the strength, I guess, ultimately, you always have freedom if you can draw up the strength but addicts don’t feel they have the strength when they’re really in the throes of addiction. At least they don’t know they have the strength.

AA: That is exactly right.

Note: To anyone struggling with gambling addiction, you can find support at Gamblers Anonymous.

John W. Kennedy is a writer, producer and media development consultant specializing in television and movie projects that uphold positive timeless values, including trust in God.