Missouri Baptist, Southern Baptist resolutions oppose ‘gambling in every form’
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article includes reporting by Baptist Press.
JEFFERSON CITY – The Republican-led Missouri House of Representatives passed a bill legalizing sports gambling in a 118-35 vote, March 21. By contrast, Missouri Southern Baptists have, on numerous occasions, opposed not only sports gambling, but “gambling in every form.”
The bill, which combines House bills 556 and 581, would tax sports gambling at 10 percent and use the revenues for public education. It now heads to the Missouri Senate for final approval.
Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) messengers opposed the legalization of sports gambling in a resolution at their 2018 annual meeting.
“The Missouri Baptist Convention stands against gambling in every form,” the resolution reads, listing several vices associated with gambling.
According to the resolution, gambling:
- “appeals to greed and the desire for more and distracts from contentment (Luke 12:15; 1 Tim. 6:6)”;
- “is based on a principle of getting something for nothing, while God’s Word values work (Ps. 128:2; Eccl. 2:24)”;
- and “by its nature is addictive, often leading to unwise decisions and dangerous behaviors.”
In their resolution, MBC messengers added that “state-sponsored gambling is a violation of the mandate given to government to seek the good of its citizens (Rom. 13:4) as gambling preys on those most in need.”
“We stand against sports gambling in any form and appeal to leaders in all levels of government to keep sports gambling out of Missouri,” MBC messengers declared in their resolution.
Once again in 2022, Missouri Baptist messengers opposed the spread of legalized gambling. On the grounds of greed, the disproportionate effect gambling has on poor families, and “acquiring material gain by chance and at our neighbor’s expense,” messengers resolved to “oppose the growing legalization and promotion of gambling of all kinds, at all times, and in all places.” The resolution also encouraged Missouri Baptist churches to teach their members about the dangers of gambling and to help those addicted to gambling. Additionally, the resolution challenged churches “to abstain from the use of raffles, lotteries, bingo, and all other games of chance for the purpose of gambling or fund-raising.”
Messengers to the 2017 national meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) approved a resolution that described gambling as a sin and called for Southern Baptists and other Christians not to participate in it. The resolution urged government at all levels to halt state-sponsored gambling and encouraged pastors and convention leaders to continue to teach Southern Baptists about the deceptiveness of gambling.
The Missouri sports gambling bill now heads to the Senate. Missouri Baptists can find information for contacting their state Senator at senate.mo.gov.