Drake
As I said to you privately, this sounds more like a debating question rather than an inquiry into a Christian point of view. In response to JimS, sin is not based on opinion from anybody. We are all born with a sin nature. Sin begins in the heart. From the standpoint of a Christian, I always try to see what Jesus Christ would do in any situation. I fail to see him walking into a pool hall with a cue case hanging on his shoulder scouting out gambling prospects to line his pockets with easy cash - whether or not the odds were in his favor or not. So that being said, you go back to the popular question:
What Would Jesus Do? I don't think he'd be gambling. I hope that answers your question. I am somebody that has been on both sides of the coin, so I have a perspective of both sides of thsi issue. Prior to accepting Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior I justified my behavior - sometimes brutally. It still didn't make what I was doing right in the eyes God. Being a Christian is not about holding yourself on a pedestal and looking down upon others. It's about walking with Jesus Christ.
Even Christians are tempted to sin. Nobody is perfect, nobody is any better than anybody else, and nobody is immune from temptation. There are several patterns of attack the devil uses to sway us off course, and I would say being tempted into gambling by the lure of dollar sign$$ would be a pattern of attack. I fell for that one over and over. When I gambled I was motivated by greed. I wanted to take and take and take. "What's in it for me?" Today I try to go to the opposite extreme and I try to give and give and give, and my question is, "What can I do for others?" Big difference. The Blackjack of 1985 would have flipped off the Blackjack of 2005. So if you don't agree with what I've said here, I've been there too.