The Holy Church of...Blackjack?

The Church should stand as the moral and obviously spiritual example to the world. As a prospective minister in the United Methodist Church, I commit myself to living by the highest ideals of a Christian lifestyle. All ministers in the UM Church take this pledge. As representatives of the Church it is important that we do this. This is important for all Christian denominations and groups. It just seems so obvious why this is important.

Last weekend, Jessamine County (in which I reside) had their yearly "Jessamine Jamboree". It is a fun time (I guess...I was not there). As I read the flyer listing the numerous events and activities taking place, something struck me as odd...and to be honest...disheartening.

The local Catholic Church was participating in the activities. I have heard recently that they brought in over $30,000 at their church. That is pretty good for two days of work. $15,000 a day is considered in most circles to be a good profit. However, the means by which this money came is what concerns me so much. What did they offer the people of Jessamine County you ask? Well...they sold beer and held Bingo, Texas Hold'em, and Poker events. They were not using fake money and the beer was not non-alcoholic.

Now...I am not up on Catholic theology to speak to their doctrines and dogmas in regard to drinking and gambling. I do know though how the United Methodist Church views these things...to which I am in full agreement.

Gambling - "Gambling is a menace to society, deadly to the best interests of moral, social, economic, and spiritual life, and destructive of good government. As an act of faith and concern, Christians should abstain from gambling and should strive to minister to those victimized by the practice...The Church should promote standards of personal lifestyles that would make unnecessary and undesirable the resort to commercial gambling - including public lotteries - as a recreation, as an escape, or as a means of producing public revenues or funds for support of charities or government." - United Methodist Book of Discipline, Paragraph 163G.

Alcohol - "We affirm our long-standing support of abstinence from alcohol as a faithful witness to God's liberating and redeeming love for all persons." - UM BOD, Paragraph 162J.

I do not think, judging by the UMC's stance on these issues, that this would fly in our church. At least it shouldn't. This is not to say that the UMC is any better than any other Christian group but that all Christians should have these views.

Drinking is simply pointless and gambling is a poor use of finances which, as far as I am concerned, is against everything that Jesus taught about the use of financial resources. However, my thoughts are not the issue. The question is whether or not a church should promote and facilitate such activities.

It is probably clear by now that my answer to that would be a resounding...NO!! As an example of the things that could go wrong...I was told by someone who was there that a gentleman was talking to a young lady when another man approached him and informed the first gentleman that he was speaking to the wrong girl. Apparently they were an item. The second man told the first that he would be waiting for him. Following the first man's departure, the second man and a couple of his friends "jumped" the other man and beat him to the point that he was taken to the hospital. This all started at a drinking and gambling event at a church. But hey...they took in $30,000.

My biggest issue with this actually comes from Scripture. Paul, in writing to the church in Corinth, addresses the issue of food that has been sacrificed to idols. The question was...do we eat it? He responded by saying that the idols are false in the first place. They are, in effect, sacrificed to nothing. There is only one God...not many. But, as Paul says, not everyone knows that. Some people think that in eating the sacrificed meat they become defiled...because they are so used to idols. "But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do" (1 Cor. 8:8). There you have it. It does not matter because food sacrificed to a false god is no more than any other food. You may be wondering where I am going with this. Well...I think I am better off letting Paul make the point.

"Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak. For if anyone with a weak conscience sees you who have this knowledge eating in an idol's temple, won't he be emboldened to eat what has been sacrificed to idols? So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. When you sin against your brothers in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall." (1 Cor. 8:9-13)

Paul does not decide not to eat the meat because it was sacrificed to idols. That didn't matter to him. He decided not to eat the meat because it may hurt the faith of others. "The mission of the Church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ by proclaiming the good news of God's grace and by exemplifying Jesus' command to love God and neighbor, thus seeking the fulfillment of God's reign and realm in the world" (BOD, Paragraph 121). If this is our mission...and we are stumbling blocks to our brothers and sisters...we have to ask ourselves...are we paying attention to the right thing?

I think that Paul's message extends far beyond eating sacrificed meats or holding drinking and gambling events at church. Paul speaks to the heart and soul of everyone. If we are going to care more about Christ and His people then we should be willing to give up some things that will cause others to stumble. Whether it be drinking, gambling, stealing, cheating, fighting, swearing, or...$30,000...we do well to ensure that it does not get in the way of allowing the light of Christ shine through us. Otherwise...not only are we doing a dis-service to those around us...but aren't we also doing a dis-service to God?