Gambling and Contentment

Gambling and Contentment? 

1 Timothy 6:6-11. Now, godliness combined with contentment brings great profit. For we have brought nothing into this world, and so we cannot take a single thing out either. But if we have food and shelter, we will be satisfied with that. Those who long to be rich, however, stumble into temptation and a trap, and many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all evils. Some people, reaching for it, have strayed from the faith and stabbed themselves with many pains. But you, as a person dedicated to God, keep away from all that. Instead, pursue righteousness, godliness, faithfulness, love, endurance, and gentleness.

Contentment, what a loaded concept. Being okay with what you have, not wanting more and more stuff. I started working an online job where the payments were through cryptocurrency. I don’t know much about this market, but I soon learned that it is volatile and ever-changing. The work part of the job was straightforward with quick payouts, ie, $5 for about 10 seconds of work. However, there were also tasks that required larger sums of money to achieve a 15-40% profit. At first, it was manageable sums, but quickly escalated into thousands of dollars for each task. I got sucked in, focusing on the payout instead of the risk.

As I was praying over the situation, I wasn’t hearing anything from God. My spouse was concerned and wanted me to bail out before the last payment, but I wanted to complete the task and gain the 40% profit. He was convinced it was a scam. I had done some of these tasks in previous days and easily received the payout. I wanted that payout.

Finally, I told Jesus I needed to hear from Him personally, not just through my husband. What he said stopped me in my tracks… He said this was gambling and a get-rich-quick thought process. Then He led me to the 1 Timothy passage above.

My Bible study group had been studying on contentment; the root of my attachment was in the love of money. God opened my eyes and then my heart. My answer was to obey the Word of God and my husband. Submission! That’s what God wants of me, my full and undistracted submission to Him and His Word.

I never completed the last task, and I never received the payout. I lost some money in the process. But to obey God is better than offering the best sacrifice, better even than the choicest part of any sacrifice. (1 Samuel 15:22)