\n \n <\/p>\n Tony Reinke<\/a><\/p>\n <\/em>\n <\/p>\n Christians are called to high standards with the words we speak. On the tongue\u2019s use and misuse of words, four general principles guide us.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n \n John Piper discusses God’s sovereignty, pastoral burnout, and the sin of racism.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n \n
\n
\n John Piper on Profanity, Crude Joking, and Using the Word \u201cDang\u201d
\n <\/a>
\n <\/strong>\n <\/p>\n
\n <\/section>\n
\n
\n Podcast: God\u2019s Sovereignty, Pastoral Burnout, and Racism (John Piper)
\n <\/a>
\n <\/strong>\n <\/p>\n
\n <\/section>\n
\n
\n The Most Important Lessons John Piper Learned from His Dad
\n <\/a>
\n <\/strong>\n <\/p>\n
Is it sinful to gamble on sports?<\/h2>\n
Fantasy sports are now a multibillion-dollar gambling industry in the United States thanks to apps like DraftKings and FanDuel, leading a young man to email and ask if a \u201crather modest\u201d bet of twenty to fifty dollars per week is sinful. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt is,\u201d Pastor John replied, \u201cbut my words don\u2019t make something sinful. God\u2019s words make something sinful.\u201d Six considerations. <\/p>\n
1. We get one life to live for Christ\u2019s glory (2 Cor. 5:15).<\/h2>\n
\u201cThen comes eternity.\u201d We get no do-overs. \u201cEvery day is either invested well or lost forever. Every breath you take, every minute of life you have, is a free gift of God and a trust, a stewardship, which God says should be lived for his glory, for the magnifying of his Son.\u201d Innocent games may be a helpful refreshment for the mind and to commune with others, \u201cbut in themselves\u2014in a fallen, needy, miserable, tragic, dying, hell-bent world like ours\u2014they have very little significance.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Ask](\"https:\/\/static.crossway.org\/studio-files\/media\/41d55d2ac0a423a496d1b2a78e4cffd76d858b1f.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
<\/a>\n <\/div>\n
\n <\/p>\n Tony Reinke<\/a><\/p>\n <\/em>
\n <\/h3>\n
Distilled from the popular podcast Ask Pastor John<\/em>, this comprehensive book compiles pastor-theologian and bestselling author John Piper\u2019s answers to life\u2019s perplexing questions about situational ethics, spiritual disciplines, theology, and more.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n2. We can get disoriented in a fog of unreality if we\u2019re not careful.<\/h2>\n
To the degree we get sucked into unreal worlds like fantasy football, we must account for how \u201cliving in an unreal world\u201d makes our \u201creal-world impact greater for the good of people and the glory of God.\u201d Sin is fundamentally deceit\u2014a trick to get us to desire what is unreal over what is real (Heb. 3:13). So a nickel bet may be modest, but fifty dollars a week isn\u2019t\u2014because \u201chalf the world\u2019s population lives on $2.50 a day, which is $17.50 a week, which is below what he\u2019s gambling. Our friend is throwing to the wind up to fifty dollars a week, calling it modest gambling. So there\u2019s good evidence he has lost touch with reality, and I would plead with him, \u2018Wake up, friend. Wake up!\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n
3. Beware of loving money.<\/h2>\n
Gambling may enhance the \u201cemotional buzz\u201d of the Sunday game, but it\u2019s more likely driven by the desire \u201cto get more money by putting other people\u2019s money at risk.\u201d An income made apart from virtuous labor is symptomatic of a love of money that the Bible calls suicidal (1 Tim. 6:9\u201310). <\/p>\n
4. Know that your money is not your<\/em> money.<\/h2>\n\u201cI would say quite bluntly, forthrightly, and confidently that you have no right to risk God\u2019s money this way. Managers don\u2019t gamble with their master\u2019s money\u2014period.\u201d Faithful trustees don\u2019t gamble with the trust fund. We all give account for our stewardship (Matt. 25:14\u201330). \u201cTo gamble with God\u2019s money on trivialities like this is a kind of embezzlement.\u201d <\/p>\n
5. See gambling as a widespread \u201csocial sickness,\u201d bringing ruin to millions, \u201cespecially the poor.\u201d<\/h2>\n
It preys on the poor more than anyone else. \u201cThe people who can least afford it take the biggest hit. Christians should not participate in lotteries, casinos, or online gambling\u2014an entire structure of devastation for millions of people.\u201d <\/p>\n
6. Seek better investments, like stocks that will grow over time.<\/h2>\n
Better, \u201cfind gloriously happy, helpful good deeds to do in people\u2019s lives. Creatively seek out how to use all that money in an excellent way. Imagine investing fifty dollars a week, two hundred dollars a month, in the causes of justice and gospel-spreading and the relief of the suffering. Oh, my, how much fun that would be. Believe me, friend, it is more blessed to give than to receive\u2014or to risk. It is more blessed to invest creatively in the eternal joys of other people than to play with God\u2019s money in the dream world of fantasy football.\u201d1<\/sup> <\/p>\nSpeaking of money love, we must free our lives from money fear to live a life of worship. We kill this anxiety by preaching to ourselves regularly. \u201cIt ain\u2019t automatic for John Piper to be fearless about money, though I get paid plenty, way plenty. It isn\u2019t automatic for me. It isn\u2019t automatic for you. We are battling fear and anxiety every day, not to mention greed.\u201d We do it by affirming regularly: \u201cHe\u2019s shepherd to me. He\u2019s Father to me. He\u2019s King to me\u201d (Luke 12:32\u201334). And he\u2019s not stingy in his care for us. \u201cPreach these things to yourself and attack fear and anxiety in your life with these truths so that when you overcome fear about money, God gets the glory.\u201d2<\/sup><\/p>\n\nSin is fundamentally deceit\u2014a trick to get us to desire what is unreal over what is real.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Gambling preys on the poor<\/h2>\n
Later, I asked Piper to elaborate on the effects of gambling on the poor.<\/p>\n
Lotteries prey on the poor\u2014especially pull-tabs and scratch tickets whose smaller and more frequent payouts ($10, $100, or $500) \u201cdraw in disproportionately more poor people than, say, the $200 million Powerball.\u201d As the poor gamble, they redirect their money to local governments. Gambling is a \u201cregressive tax\u201d on the poor, a way of \u201cluring the poor, who pay almost no taxes for social services, to pay a kind of tax in a way that worsens their situation rather than making it better, which is what taxes are supposed to do.\u201d And gambling preys on the poor because the poor are more financially hopeless,\u201d a feeling that \u201cdrives most of the purchases.\u201d Buying a scratch ticket won\u2019t make a bad situation much worse. When you feel financially hopeless already, \u201carguments against gambling lose most of their force.\u201d <\/p>\n
So what\u2019s to be done? (1) Consider the poor. We don\u2019t dismiss the poor or \u201cstand aloof and roll our eyes at the stupidity of millions of dollars that roll into the state coffers from people who can barely pay their bills.\u201d Instead, the Bible calls our minds and hearts to consider them (Pss. 41:1; 113:7; Prov. 14:31; 17:5; 31:9). (2) Refuse to financially feed any institution that preys on the poor. (3) Advocate for the poor. \u201cWe should give our thinking, praying, advocating, investing, and planning toward the removal of unnecessary barriers to productive work and gainful employment among the poor, the removal of incentives and allurements toward waste and squandering and irresponsibility, and instead seek to put in place encouragements toward deferred gratification, and, finally, the creation of responsibility and hope in people\u2019s lives, through the gospel.\u201d3<\/sup><\/p>\nIsn\u2019t the stock market like gambling?<\/h2>\n
In truth, money is always risky. \u201cYou bury it, and it\u2019ll maybe rot. You can hide it in the house, but the house may burn down. You can put it in the bank, and the banks may fail, and the government that insures it may fail. Put it in stocks with differing philosophies of principal protection, and they all may go bankrupt. Yes, there is no escaping risk when it comes to money in this world\u2014or for that matter, doing anything in this world.\u201d<\/p>\n
So isn\u2019t stock market investing as risky as gambling? No, for three reasons. (1) \u201cInvesting means letting another person use your money for enterprises that you believe contribute to the common good, while gambling means supporting a system that is counterproductive to the common good, and especially destructive for the poor.\u201d (2) Gambling is all or nothing. Stock market investing is rarely a total loss. (3) Gambling rides on high loss-possibility, but the market lets you choose degrees of lesser risk.<\/p>\n
The Dow is wiser than gambling, but there\u2019s an investment of greater value than both, although it\u2019s far riskier because \u201cyou might have to lose your life in the process.\u201d But this investment is also \u201cfoolproof \u201d with guaranteed dividends \u201cgreater than any dividends in the universe.\u201d It\u2019s an investment that cannot be destroyed by bankruptcy, bear markets, rust, age, inflation, robbery, or hackers (Matt. 6:19\u201321; Luke 2:33; 1 Tim. 6:17\u201319). In the end, \u201cthe main emphasis in the financial life of a Christian should not be how to minimize risk<\/em> and maximize gain<\/em> in the stock market, but rather how to maximize eternal gain by maximizing generosity<\/em> for the sake of causes that glorify God and rescue sinners from suffering, especially eternal suffering.\u201d<\/p>\nAs for corporate corruption, how can we be certain we\u2019re not investing in exploitative and evil companies? \u201cAs far as I know, you can\u2019t. You can\u2019t know that. But that\u2019s true of every dollar you spend in the marketplace.\u201d A local store may be a front for evil. \u201cAny clothing chain where you get your shirt may exploit foreign workers.\u201d Do your homework. Never invest in evil. But also know that \u201cyou\u2019re not responsible for all that somebody might do to misuse your money any more than a salt manufacturer is responsible for high blood pressure.\u201d4<\/sup><\/p>\nAre Christians shrewd investors in this age?<\/h2>\n
No, often not. Jesus uses the parable of the dishonest manager to spotlight how shrewd the world is with money. In this case a manager, about to be fired, barters with others to score points and store favors and win personal influence that he will cash out later (Luke 16:1\u201313). It\u2019s a cunning move. In comparison, Christians are often a lot less shrewd in the world of investing. But Jesus says fiscal cleverness is ultimately insignificant.<\/p>\n
Christians eye eternal gains, not quick monetary wins. So \u201cmaybe you aren\u2019t that shrewd when it comes to the stock market, but guess what? Who cares? You\u2019ve got a billion years to enjoy your investment.\u201d Use your money for eternal gain, because as Jesus says, worldly wealth is destined to \u201cfail\u201d you (Luke 16:9). \u201cFail\u201d (\u1f00\u03bd\u03ad\u03ba\u03bb\u03b5\u03b9\u03c0\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2<\/em>) is a trigger word to remind us that money is temporal and fleeting (Luke 12:33). But \u201cmaking friends\u201d in the parable translates to using money to meet people\u2019s needs. \u201cThat\u2019s the way to lay up treasure in heaven that does not fail.\u201d That\u2019s the shrewdest investment. \u201cHere\u2019s the basic point: don\u2019t worry about being a shrewd investor in this age, where you can provide a future that will only fail.\u201d Instead, \u201cuse your resources to do as much good as you can for the glory of God and the eternal good of others.\u201d This is true financial expertise.5<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n Notes:<\/strong>\n <\/p>\n\n- APJ 1269: \u201cIs It Sinful to Gamble on Fantasy Sports?\u201d (October 29, 2018). <\/li>\n
- APJ 1820: \u201cHow Money Fears Kill Our Worship\u201d (August 10, 2022).<\/li>\n
- APJ 1732: \u201cHow the Lottery Preys on the Poor\u201d (January 17, 2022).<\/li>\n
- APJ 1305: \u201cIs Investing in Stocks Any Better Than Gambling?\u201d (January 21, 2019).<\/li>\n
- APJ 1273: \u201cDoes Jesus Commend Dishonesty in Luke 16?\u201d (November 7, 2018).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n
This article is adapted from<\/em> Ask Pastor John: 750 Bible Answers to Life’s Most Important Questions<\/a> by Tony Reinke.<\/em><\/p>\n
\n\n ![\"Tony](\"https:\/\/static.crossway.org\/authors\/small\/1846.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
<\/em>
\n <\/h3>\n
Distilled from the popular podcast Ask Pastor John<\/em>, this comprehensive book compiles pastor-theologian and bestselling author John Piper\u2019s answers to life\u2019s perplexing questions about situational ethics, spiritual disciplines, theology, and more.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n To the degree we get sucked into unreal worlds like fantasy football, we must account for how \u201cliving in an unreal world\u201d makes our \u201creal-world impact greater for the good of people and the glory of God.\u201d Sin is fundamentally deceit\u2014a trick to get us to desire what is unreal over what is real (Heb. 3:13). So a nickel bet may be modest, but fifty dollars a week isn\u2019t\u2014because \u201chalf the world\u2019s population lives on $2.50 a day, which is $17.50 a week, which is below what he\u2019s gambling. Our friend is throwing to the wind up to fifty dollars a week, calling it modest gambling. So there\u2019s good evidence he has lost touch with reality, and I would plead with him, \u2018Wake up, friend. Wake up!\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n Gambling may enhance the \u201cemotional buzz\u201d of the Sunday game, but it\u2019s more likely driven by the desire \u201cto get more money by putting other people\u2019s money at risk.\u201d An income made apart from virtuous labor is symptomatic of a love of money that the Bible calls suicidal (1 Tim. 6:9\u201310). <\/p>\n \u201cI would say quite bluntly, forthrightly, and confidently that you have no right to risk God\u2019s money this way. Managers don\u2019t gamble with their master\u2019s money\u2014period.\u201d Faithful trustees don\u2019t gamble with the trust fund. We all give account for our stewardship (Matt. 25:14\u201330). \u201cTo gamble with God\u2019s money on trivialities like this is a kind of embezzlement.\u201d <\/p>\n It preys on the poor more than anyone else. \u201cThe people who can least afford it take the biggest hit. Christians should not participate in lotteries, casinos, or online gambling\u2014an entire structure of devastation for millions of people.\u201d <\/p>\n Better, \u201cfind gloriously happy, helpful good deeds to do in people\u2019s lives. Creatively seek out how to use all that money in an excellent way. Imagine investing fifty dollars a week, two hundred dollars a month, in the causes of justice and gospel-spreading and the relief of the suffering. Oh, my, how much fun that would be. Believe me, friend, it is more blessed to give than to receive\u2014or to risk. It is more blessed to invest creatively in the eternal joys of other people than to play with God\u2019s money in the dream world of fantasy football.\u201d1<\/sup> <\/p>\n Speaking of money love, we must free our lives from money fear to live a life of worship. We kill this anxiety by preaching to ourselves regularly. \u201cIt ain\u2019t automatic for John Piper to be fearless about money, though I get paid plenty, way plenty. It isn\u2019t automatic for me. It isn\u2019t automatic for you. We are battling fear and anxiety every day, not to mention greed.\u201d We do it by affirming regularly: \u201cHe\u2019s shepherd to me. He\u2019s Father to me. He\u2019s King to me\u201d (Luke 12:32\u201334). And he\u2019s not stingy in his care for us. \u201cPreach these things to yourself and attack fear and anxiety in your life with these truths so that when you overcome fear about money, God gets the glory.\u201d2<\/sup><\/p>\n Sin is fundamentally deceit\u2014a trick to get us to desire what is unreal over what is real.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Later, I asked Piper to elaborate on the effects of gambling on the poor.<\/p>\n Lotteries prey on the poor\u2014especially pull-tabs and scratch tickets whose smaller and more frequent payouts ($10, $100, or $500) \u201cdraw in disproportionately more poor people than, say, the $200 million Powerball.\u201d As the poor gamble, they redirect their money to local governments. Gambling is a \u201cregressive tax\u201d on the poor, a way of \u201cluring the poor, who pay almost no taxes for social services, to pay a kind of tax in a way that worsens their situation rather than making it better, which is what taxes are supposed to do.\u201d And gambling preys on the poor because the poor are more financially hopeless,\u201d a feeling that \u201cdrives most of the purchases.\u201d Buying a scratch ticket won\u2019t make a bad situation much worse. When you feel financially hopeless already, \u201carguments against gambling lose most of their force.\u201d <\/p>\n So what\u2019s to be done? (1) Consider the poor. We don\u2019t dismiss the poor or \u201cstand aloof and roll our eyes at the stupidity of millions of dollars that roll into the state coffers from people who can barely pay their bills.\u201d Instead, the Bible calls our minds and hearts to consider them (Pss. 41:1; 113:7; Prov. 14:31; 17:5; 31:9). (2) Refuse to financially feed any institution that preys on the poor. (3) Advocate for the poor. \u201cWe should give our thinking, praying, advocating, investing, and planning toward the removal of unnecessary barriers to productive work and gainful employment among the poor, the removal of incentives and allurements toward waste and squandering and irresponsibility, and instead seek to put in place encouragements toward deferred gratification, and, finally, the creation of responsibility and hope in people\u2019s lives, through the gospel.\u201d3<\/sup><\/p>\n In truth, money is always risky. \u201cYou bury it, and it\u2019ll maybe rot. You can hide it in the house, but the house may burn down. You can put it in the bank, and the banks may fail, and the government that insures it may fail. Put it in stocks with differing philosophies of principal protection, and they all may go bankrupt. Yes, there is no escaping risk when it comes to money in this world\u2014or for that matter, doing anything in this world.\u201d<\/p>\n So isn\u2019t stock market investing as risky as gambling? No, for three reasons. (1) \u201cInvesting means letting another person use your money for enterprises that you believe contribute to the common good, while gambling means supporting a system that is counterproductive to the common good, and especially destructive for the poor.\u201d (2) Gambling is all or nothing. Stock market investing is rarely a total loss. (3) Gambling rides on high loss-possibility, but the market lets you choose degrees of lesser risk.<\/p>\n The Dow is wiser than gambling, but there\u2019s an investment of greater value than both, although it\u2019s far riskier because \u201cyou might have to lose your life in the process.\u201d But this investment is also \u201cfoolproof \u201d with guaranteed dividends \u201cgreater than any dividends in the universe.\u201d It\u2019s an investment that cannot be destroyed by bankruptcy, bear markets, rust, age, inflation, robbery, or hackers (Matt. 6:19\u201321; Luke 2:33; 1 Tim. 6:17\u201319). In the end, \u201cthe main emphasis in the financial life of a Christian should not be how to minimize risk<\/em> and maximize gain<\/em> in the stock market, but rather how to maximize eternal gain by maximizing generosity<\/em> for the sake of causes that glorify God and rescue sinners from suffering, especially eternal suffering.\u201d<\/p>\n As for corporate corruption, how can we be certain we\u2019re not investing in exploitative and evil companies? \u201cAs far as I know, you can\u2019t. You can\u2019t know that. But that\u2019s true of every dollar you spend in the marketplace.\u201d A local store may be a front for evil. \u201cAny clothing chain where you get your shirt may exploit foreign workers.\u201d Do your homework. Never invest in evil. But also know that \u201cyou\u2019re not responsible for all that somebody might do to misuse your money any more than a salt manufacturer is responsible for high blood pressure.\u201d4<\/sup><\/p>\n No, often not. Jesus uses the parable of the dishonest manager to spotlight how shrewd the world is with money. In this case a manager, about to be fired, barters with others to score points and store favors and win personal influence that he will cash out later (Luke 16:1\u201313). It\u2019s a cunning move. In comparison, Christians are often a lot less shrewd in the world of investing. But Jesus says fiscal cleverness is ultimately insignificant.<\/p>\n Christians eye eternal gains, not quick monetary wins. So \u201cmaybe you aren\u2019t that shrewd when it comes to the stock market, but guess what? Who cares? You\u2019ve got a billion years to enjoy your investment.\u201d Use your money for eternal gain, because as Jesus says, worldly wealth is destined to \u201cfail\u201d you (Luke 16:9). \u201cFail\u201d (\u1f00\u03bd\u03ad\u03ba\u03bb\u03b5\u03b9\u03c0\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2<\/em>) is a trigger word to remind us that money is temporal and fleeting (Luke 12:33). But \u201cmaking friends\u201d in the parable translates to using money to meet people\u2019s needs. \u201cThat\u2019s the way to lay up treasure in heaven that does not fail.\u201d That\u2019s the shrewdest investment. \u201cHere\u2019s the basic point: don\u2019t worry about being a shrewd investor in this age, where you can provide a future that will only fail.\u201d Instead, \u201cuse your resources to do as much good as you can for the glory of God and the eternal good of others.\u201d This is true financial expertise.5<\/sup><\/p>\n \n Notes:<\/strong>\n <\/p>\n This article is adapted from<\/em> Ask Pastor John: 750 Bible Answers to Life’s Most Important Questions<\/a> by Tony Reinke.<\/em><\/p>\n 2. We can get disoriented in a fog of unreality if we\u2019re not careful.<\/h2>\n
3. Beware of loving money.<\/h2>\n
4. Know that your money is not your<\/em> money.<\/h2>\n
5. See gambling as a widespread \u201csocial sickness,\u201d bringing ruin to millions, \u201cespecially the poor.\u201d<\/h2>\n
6. Seek better investments, like stocks that will grow over time.<\/h2>\n
\n
Gambling preys on the poor<\/h2>\n
Isn\u2019t the stock market like gambling?<\/h2>\n
Are Christians shrewd investors in this age?<\/h2>\n
\n
\n<\/p>\n