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104 Bible Verses About Gambling
I want to talk to you about something I've been reflecting on: using our resources wisely. The Bible teaches us to take care of our families, and that really hits home for me. It makes me think twice about risking what I have on things like gambling, hoping for a quick win. While the Bible doesn't specifically call out gambling, it gives us a lot of guidance to figure out how God feels about it.
Luke 12:1515 really speaks to me: "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions." That's a powerful reminder that true wealth isn't about how much stuff we have. It's about something deeper.
And then there's Luke 12:4242: "Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time?" This verse challenges me to be a good steward of everything I've been blessed with. It reminds me to manage my resources wisely, appreciating everything I've received, and not throwing it away on risky choices.
For desire is the root of all evils. Some persons, hungering in this way, have strayed from the faith and have entangled themselves in many sorrows.
For desire is the root of all evils. Some persons, hungering in this way, have strayed from the faith and have entangled themselves in many sorrows.For those who want to become rich fall into temptation and into the snare of the devil and into many useless and harmful desires, which submerge men in destruction and in perdition.
A man who hurries to become rich, and who envies others, does not know that destitution will overwhelm him.
Do not be willing to labor so that you may be enriched. But set limits by your prudence.
Where there are many riches, there will also be many to consume these things. And how does it benefit the one who possesses, except that he discerns the wealth with his own eyes?
No one is able to serve two masters. For either he will have hatred for the one, and love the other, or he will persevere with the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
Substance obtained in haste will be diminished. But what is collected by hand, little by little, shall be multiplied.
to choose work that allows you to be tranquil, and to carry out your business and to do your work with your own hands, just as we have instructed you,
All is lawful to me, but not all is expedient. All is lawful to me, but I will not be driven back by the authority of anyone.
You shall not covet the house of your neighbor; neither shall you desire his wife, nor male servant, nor female servant, nor ox, nor donkey, nor anything that is his."
You shall not slander your neighbor, nor shall you oppress him by violence. The wages of a hired hand, you shall not delay with you until tomorrow.
You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his house, nor his field, nor his man servant, nor his woman servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything out of all that is his.'
Concerning the rest, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is chaste, whatever is just, whatever is holy, whatever is worthy to be loved, whatever is of good repute, if there is any virtue, if there is any praiseworthy discipline: meditate on these.
The neglectful hand has wrought destitution. But the hand of the steadfast prepares riches. He who advances by lies, this one feeds on the wind. For he is the same as one who runs after flying birds.
Whoever trusts in his riches will fall. But the just shall spring up like a green leaf.
Therefore, all things whatsoever that you wish that men would do to you, do so also to them. For this is the law and the prophets.
Whoever pursues avarice disturbs his own house. But whoever hates bribes shall live. Through mercy and faith, sins are purged. But through the fear of the Lord, each one turns aside from evil.
When an inheritance is obtained hastily in the beginning, in the end it will be without a blessing.
The intentions of the robust continually bring forth abundance. But all the lazy are continually in need.
Whoever loves a feast will be in deprivation. Whoever loves wine and fatness will not be enriched.
There is desirable treasure, as well as oil, in the habitations of the just. And the imprudent man will waste it.
Whoever slanders the poor, so as to augment his own riches, will give it away to one who is richer, and will be in need.
Do not be willing to labor so that you may be enriched. But set limits by your prudence.Do not raise your eyes toward wealth that you are not able to have. For they will make themselves wings, like those of an eagle, and they will fly in the sky.
Better is the pauper walking in his simplicity, than the rich walking in ways of depravity.
Whoever works his land shall be satisfied with bread. But whoever pursues leisure will be filled with need.A faithful man shall be greatly praised. But whoever rushes to become rich will not be innocent.
For they are lost in a most grievous affliction. He has produced a son, who will be in the utmost destitution.Just as he went forth naked from his mother's womb, so shall he return, and he shall take nothing with him from his labors.It is an utterly miserable infirmity that, in the same manner as he has arrived, so shall he return. How then does it benefit him, since he has labored for the wind?
Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and expend your labor for what does not satisfy? Listen very closely to me, and eat what is good, and then your soul will be delighted by a full measure.
And you who have forsaken the Lord, who have forgotten my holy mountain, who set a table for Fortune, and who offer libations concerning her:I will number you with the sword, and you will all fall by slaughter. For I called and you did not respond; I spoke, and you did not listen. And you did what is evil in my eyes; and what I did not will, you have chosen.
A partridge has hatched eggs that she did not lay; a man has gathered riches, but without judgment. In the midst of his days, he will leave it all behind, and he will be foolish concerning his very end."
Their silver will be thrown away, and their gold will be like a dunghill. Their silver and their gold will have no power to free them in the day of the fury of the Lord. They will not satisfy their soul, and their bellies will not be filled, because of the scandal of their iniquity.
Woe to you who devise useless things and who work evil in your beds. In the morning light, they undertake it, because their hand is against God.And they have desired fields and have taken them by violence, and they have stolen houses. And they have made false accusations against a man and his house, a man and his inheritance.
Nevertheless, there is a fire in the house of the impious, the treasury of iniquity, and a small measure, filled with wrath.Shall I justify unfaithful balances, and the deceitful weighing of a small bag?By this, her wealthy have been filled with iniquity, and her inhabitants have spoken lies, and their tongue was deceitful in their mouth.
Woe to him who gathers together an evil greed for his house, so that his nest may be exalted, and thinking that he might free himself from the hand of evil.
Do not choose to store up for yourselves treasures on earth: where rust and moth consume, and where thieves break in and steal.Instead, store up for yourselves treasures in heaven: where neither rust nor moth consumes, and where thieves do not break in and steal.For where your treasure is, there also is your heart.
For how does it benefit a man, if he gains the whole world, yet truly suffers damage to his soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
Jesus said to him: "If you are willing to be perfect, go, sell what you have, and give to the poor, and then you will have treasure in heaven. And come, follow me."And when the young man had heard this word, he went away sad, for he had many possessions.Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Amen, I say to you, that the wealthy shall enter with difficulty into the kingdom of heaven.And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for the wealthy to enter into the kingdom of heaven."
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! For you clean what is outside the cup and the dish, but on the inside you are full of avarice and impurity.
For it is like a man setting out on a long journey, who called his servants and delivered to them his goods.And to one he gave five talents, and to another two, yet to another he gave one, to each according to his own ability. And promptly, he set out.Then he who had received five talents went out, and he made use of these, and he gained another five.And similarly, he who had received two gained another two.But he who had received one, going out, dug into the earth, and he hid the money of his lord.Yet truly, after a long time, the lord of those servants returned and he settled accounts with them.And when he who had received five talents approached, he brought another five talents, saying: 'Lord, you delivered five talents to me. Behold, I have increased it by another five.'His lord said to him: 'Well done, good and faithful servant. Since you have been faithful over a few things, I will appoint you over many things. Enter into the gladness of your lord.'Then he who had received two talents also approached, and he said: 'Lord, you delivered two talents to me. Behold, I have gained another two.'His lord said to him: 'Well done, good and faithful servant. Since you have been faithful over a few things, I will appoint you over many things. Enter into the gladness of your lord.'Then he who had received one talent, approaching, said: 'Lord, I know that you are a hard man. You reap where you have not sown, and gather where you have not scattered.And so, being afraid, I went out and hid your talent in the earth. Behold, you have what is yours.'But his lord said to him in response: 'You evil and lazy servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered.Therefore, you should have deposited my money with the bankers, and then, at my arrival, at least I would have received what is mine with interest.And so, take the talent away from him and give it the one who has ten talents.For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he shall have in abundance. But from him who has not, even what he seems to have, shall be taken away.And cast that useless servant into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'
For how does it benefit a man, if he gains the whole world, and yet causes harm to his soul?
And those which fell among thorns are those who have heard it, but as they go along, they are suffocated by the concerns and riches and pleasures of this life, and so they do not yield fruit.
So he said to them: "Be cautious and wary of all avarice. For a person's life is not found in the abundance of the things that he possesses."
Sell what you possess, and give alms. Make for yourselves purses that will not wear out, a treasure that will not fall short, in heaven, where no thief approaches, and no moth corrupts.For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
No servant is able to serve two lords. For either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will cling to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."
But the Pharisees, who were greedy, were listening to all these things. And they ridiculed him.
A certain man was wealthy, and he was clothed in purple and in fine linen. And he feasted splendidly every day.And there was a certain beggar, named Lazarus, who lay at his gate, covered with sores,wanting to be filled with the crumbs which were falling from the wealthy man's table. But no one gave it to him. And even the dogs came and licked his sores.Then it happened that the beggar died, and he was carried by the Angels into the bosom of Abraham. Now the wealthy man also died, and he was entombed in Hell.Then lifting up his eyes, while he was in torments, he saw Abraham far away, and Lazarus in his bosom.And crying out, he said: 'Father Abraham, take pity on me and send Lazarus, so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water to refresh my tongue. For I am tortured in this fire.'And Abraham said to him: 'Son, recall that you received good things in your life, and in comparison, Lazarus received bad things. But now he is consoled, and truly you are tormented.And besides all this, between us and you a great chaos has been established, so that those who might want to cross from here to you are not able, nor can someone cross from there to here.'And he said: 'Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers,so that he may testify to them, lest they also come into this place of torments.'And Abraham said to him: 'They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.'So he said: 'No, father Abraham. But if someone were to go to them from the dead, they would repent.'But he said to him: 'If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they believe even if someone has resurrected from the dead.' "
And when Jesus heard this, he said to him: "One thing is still lacking for you. Sell all the things that you have, and give to the poor. And then you will have treasure in heaven. And come, follow me."When he heard this, he became very sorrowful. For he was very rich.Then Jesus, seeing him brought to sorrow, said: "How difficult it is for those who have money to enter into the kingdom of God!For it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a wealthy man to enter into the kingdom of God."
And when he had made something like a whip out of little cords, he drove them all out of the temple, including the sheep and the oxen. And he poured out the brass coins of the moneychangers, and he overturned their tables.And to those who were selling doves, he said: "Take these things out of here, and do not make my Father's house into a house of commerce."
But a certain man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a field,and he was deceitful about the price of the field, with his wife's consent. And bringing only part of it, he placed it at the feet of the Apostles.But Peter said: "Ananias, why has Satan tempted your heart, so that you would lie to the Holy Spirit and be deceitful about the price of the land?
But when Simon had seen that, by the imposition of the hands of the Apostles, the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money,saying, "Give this power to me also, so that on whomever I will lay my hands, he may receive the Holy Spirit." But Peter said to him:"Let your money be with you in perdition, for you have supposed that a gift of God might be possessed by money.
The love of neighbor does no harm. Therefore, love is the plenitude of the law.You should owe nothing to anyone, except so as to love one another. For whoever loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.For example: You shall not commit adultery. You shall not kill. You shall not steal. You shall not speak false testimony. You shall not covet. And if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this word: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
But now I have written to you: do not associate with anyone who is called a brother and yet is a fornicator, or greedy, or a servant of idolatry, or a slanderer, or inebriated, or a robber. With such a one as this, do not even take food.
nor the effeminate, nor males who sleep with males, nor thieves, nor the avaricious, nor the inebriated, nor slanderers, nor the rapacious shall possess the kingdom of God.Do you not know that the iniquitous will not possess the kingdom of God? Do not choose to wander astray. For neither fornicators, nor servants of idolatry, nor adulterers,
Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever else you may do, do everything for the glory of God.
On the first day of the week, the Sabbath, let each one of you take from himself, setting aside what will be well-pleasing to him, so that when I arrive, the collections will not have to be made then.
each one giving, just as he has determined in his heart, neither out of sadness, nor out of obligation. For God loves a cheerful giver.
Whoever was stealing, let him now not steal, but rather let him labor, working with his hands, doing what is good, so that he may have something to distribute to those who suffer need.
But let not any kind of fornication, or impurity, or rapacity so much as be named among you, just as is worthy of the saints,nor any indecent, or foolish, or abusive talk, for this is without purpose; but instead, give thanks.For know and understand this: no one who is a fornicator, or lustful, or rapacious (for these are a kind of service to idols) holds an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
Therefore, mortify your body, while it is upon the earth. For because of fornication, impurity, lust, evil desires, and avarice, which are a kind of service to idols,
to choose work that allows you to be tranquil, and to carry out your business and to do your work with your own hands, just as we have instructed you,and to walk honestly with those who are outside, and to desire nothing belonging to another.
For desire is the root of all evils. Some persons, hungering in this way, have strayed from the faith and have entangled themselves in many sorrows.But piety with sufficiency is great gain.For we brought nothing into this world, and there is no doubt that we can take nothing away.But, having nourishment and some kind of covering, we should be content with these.For those who want to become rich fall into temptation and into the snare of the devil and into many useless and harmful desires, which submerge men in destruction and in perdition.
Instruct the wealthy of this age not to have a superior attitude, nor to hope in the uncertainty of riches, but in the living God, who offers us everything in abundance to enjoy,and to do good, to become rich in good works, to donate readily, to share,to gather for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may obtain true life.
And a bishop, as a steward of God, must be without offense: not arrogant, not short-tempered, not a drunkard, not violent, not desiring tainted profit,
For you even had compassion on those who were imprisoned, and you accepted with gladness being deprived of your goods, knowing that you have a better and more lasting substance.
Let your behavior be without avarice; be content with what you are offered. For he himself has said, "I will not abandon you, and I will not neglect you."
and a rich one, in his humiliation, for he will pass away like the flower of the grass.For the sun has risen with a scorching heat, and has dried the grass, and its flower has fallen off, and the appearance of its beauty has perished. So also will the rich one wither away, according to his paths.Now a humble brother should glory in his exaltation,
My most beloved brothers, listen. Has not God chosen the poor in this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom that God has promised to those who love him?But you have dishonored the poor. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you through power? And are not they the ones who drag you to judgment?
But who are you to judge your neighbor? Consider this, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go into that city, and certainly we will spend a year there, and we will do business, and we will make our profit,"consider that you do not know what will be tomorrow.For what is your life? It is a mist that appears for a brief time, and afterwards will vanish away. So what you ought to say is: "If the Lord wills," or, "If we live," we will do this or that.
Act now, you who are wealthy! Weep and wail in your miseries, which will soon come upon you!Your riches have been corrupted, and your garments have been eaten by moths.Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be a testimony against you, and it will eat away at your flesh like fire. You have stored up wrath for yourselves unto the last days.
pasture the flock of God that is among you, providing for it, not as a requirement, but willingly, in accord with God, and not for the sake of tainted profit, but freely,
And in avarice, they will negotiate about you with false words. Their judgment, in the near future, is not delayed, and their perdition does not sleep.
Do not choose to love the world, nor the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, the charity of the Father is not in him.For all that is in the world is the desire of the flesh, and the desire of the eyes, and the arrogance of a life which is not of the Father, but is of the world.And the world is passing away, with its desire. But whoever does the will of God abides unto eternity.
Whoever possesses the goods of this world, and sees his brother to be in need, and yet closes his heart to him: in what way does the love of God abide in him?
For you declare, 'I am wealthy, and I have been enriched further, and I have need of nothing.' And you do not know that you are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.I urge you to buy from me gold, tested by fire, so that you may be enriched and may be clothed in white vestments, and so that the shame of your nakedness may disappear. And anoint your eyes with an eye salve, so that you may see.
Riches adds many friends. But from the pauper, even those whom he had become separated.
One is like the rich, though he has nothing. And another is like the poor, though he has many riches.
Therefore, he said: "A certain man of nobility traveled to a far away region, to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return.And calling his ten servants, he gave them ten pounds, and he said to them: 'Do business until I return.'But his citizens hated him. And so they sent a delegation after him, saying, 'We do not want this one to reign over us.'And it happened that he returned, having received the kingdom. And he ordered the servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called so that he would know how much each one had earned by doing business.Now the first approached, saying: 'Lord, your one pound has earned ten pounds.'And he said to him: 'Well done, good servant. Since you have been faithful in a small matter, you will hold authority over ten cities.'And the second came, saying: 'Lord, your one pound has earned five pounds.'And he said to him, 'And so, you shall be over five cities.'And another approached, saying: 'Lord, behold your one pound, which I kept stored in a cloth.For I feared you, because you are an austere man. You take up what you did not lay down, and you reap what you did not sow.'He said to him: 'By your own mouth, do I judge you, O wicked servant. You knew that I am an austere man, taking up what I did not lay down, and reaping what I did not sow.And so, why did you not give my money to the bank, so that, upon my return, I might have withdrawn it with interest?'And he said to the bystanders, 'Take the pound away from him, and give it to him who has ten pounds.'And they said to him, 'Lord, he has ten pounds.'So then, I say to you, that to all who have, it shall be given, and he will have in abundance. And from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.
And whoever has received the seed among thorns, this is he who hears the word, but the cares of this age and the falseness of riches suffocate the word, and he is effectively without fruit.
For the time that has passed is sufficient to have fulfilled the will of the Gentiles, those who have walked in luxuries, lusts, intoxication, feasting, drinking, and the illicit worship of idols.About this, they wonder why you do not rush with them into the same confusion of indulgences, blaspheming.But they must render an account to him who is prepared to judge the living and the dead.
Therefore, we should no longer judge one another. Instead, judge this to a greater extent: that you should not place an obstacle before your brother, nor lead him astray.
And do not choose to be conformed to this age, but instead choose to be reformed in the newness of your mind, so that you may demonstrate what is the will of God: what is good, and what is well-pleasing, and what is perfect.
Every labor of man is for his mouth, but his soul will not be filled.What do the wise have which is more than the foolish? And what does the pauper have, except to continue on to that place, where there is life?It is better to see what you desire, than to desire what you cannot know. But this, too, is emptiness and a presumption of spirit.
For it is necessary for us to be manifested before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive the proper things of the body, according to his behavior, whether it was good or evil.And thus we struggle, whether absent or present, to please him.
choosing to be afflicted with the people of God, rather than to have the pleasantness of sin for a time,
it remains alone. But if it dies, it yields much fruit. Whoever loves his life, will lose it. And whoever hates his life in this world, preserves it unto eternal life.If anyone serves me, let him follow me. And where I am, there too my minister shall be. If anyone has served me, my Father will honor him.
And in response, the King shall say to them, 'Amen I say to you, whenever you did this for one of these, the least of my brothers, you did it for me.'
Do not choose to bear the yoke with unbelievers. For how can justice be a participant with iniquity? Or how can the fellowship of light be a participant with darkness?
Possess wisdom, for it is better than gold. And acquire prudence, for it is more precious than silver.
And he said to them: "You are the ones who justify yourselves in the sight of men. But God knows your hearts. For what is lifted up by men is an abomination in the sight of God.
For how does it benefit a man, if he were to gain the whole world, yet lose himself, or cause himself harm?