Ministry Moment: Anywhere but here?

During Wednesday night's poker tournament at Club H2O, David sat at our right. And he grabbed our "Jesus as your Savior" coin to look at it before we brought it up.

"Do you agree with the message on it?" we asked.

He had to check it a second time, to read what it said. "Yeah, but not when you're playing poker," David answered. "Gambling is a sin."

We could have responded to this in several ways. We could have quoted the interview with Canadian poker pro and committed Christian Daniel Negranu. Or we could have gone to a Bible concordance, and noted the English word "gamble" is nowhere in the Bible.

Before mentioning how we replied, let's stop there a moment. That second answer might surprise some people, who have been taught various "old-time religion" lists of vices over the years. You know, the ones against playing cards or dancing. They may be traditional, but they're not Biblical.

LOTS OF DRAMA
But hold on, you may be saying -- what about that incident when Jesus was crucified? Didn't soldiers gamble over the Lord's clothing?

Matthew 27:35 says this, from the New International Version: "When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots." (Only the Contemporary English Version uses the word "gambled.") This moment actually fulfilled an Old Testament prophecy of Jesus's death (Psm. 22:18).

The same Greek words for "lots" appear in Acts 1:26, but with a very different purpose. The apostles used lots to decide who would replace Judas Iscariot -- and they did this after Jesus was resurrected, and had ascended to heaven.

The Greek for "casting" admittedly is different. In Matthew, something was thrown. In Acts, something was given. The paraphrase The Message says the candidates "drew straws," and the CEV says they "drew names" as if out of a hat.

But one Bible commentary pointed us to a bigger difference. The apostles prayed for guidance before the drawing (Acts 1:24-25). We say Christians who play poker should do the same thing -- yes, pray before you play. Pray that you'll be a good example of Jesus Christ FIRST, above anything else. Put your witness first, then trust God with whatever blessings come at the table.

THE WRONG PLACE?
Now back to our chat with David. We tried to explain how all of us "gamble" in life by taking risks every day. Even driving on the freeway can be a gamble, because an aggressive or drunk driver might cross your path.

David seemed to understand that -- but he explained: "My Mom would say, 'What if Jesus came back right now? Would He want to find you here?'" As in a club, among drinkers and smokers (he was the latter).

David might have been surprised to learn he was sharing a poker table with the Executive Director of a local faith-based charity. He's attended poker nights for awhile, and describes poker as a game "with some thinking involved." We're not sure how much he uses poker as a witnessing tool, but he's there.

We didn't mention that man, since he was playing under a nickname and might not have wanted us to blow his cover. But we told David Jesus might not mind our location, as long as we were being a godly example.

Keep in mind that Jesus was accused of being "a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and 'sinners.'" (Matt. 11:19) But then Jesus added: "Wisdom is proved right by her actions." Wise people realize our Savior was not a sinner at all. Instead, He preached the Gospel TO them by spending time around them. And that's one of our goals as well.

THE RIGHT QUESTION
"However, when the Son of Man comes," Jesus asked elsewhere, "will he find faith on the earth?" (Lk. 18:8) It's not necessarily where you are when Jesus comes back, but what you'll be doing when He comes.

Will you be displaying faith in God, by your daily actions -- whether you're on the job, in your home or at a poker room? It's actually possible in all of those places. If you're not sure how to accomplish that, pray to God for wisdom and help.