A digital TV channel in our city shows the Retro Television Network -- and it's showing 40-year-old reruns of Dragnet every afternoon, right before dinner.
Today's episode caught our attention because poker came up. Detectives followed a suspected embezzler to a town 100 miles from Los Angeles, where he played draw poker at a card club.
The episode ended with the man confessing the crime, and pretty much admitting he was addicted to gambling. Harry Morgan's character then reminded him an organization called Gamblers Anonymous can help people come out of that addiction.
We recommend the "20 questions" link at the G.A. web site, if you think you or someone you know is falling into gambling addiction.
But we also noted the suspect's statement to police: "I prayed." Jack Webb's character responded with what he admitted was a guess about how prayer works: "You have to ask for the right things."
Sgt. Friday had a good point. "When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures." (James 4:3)
If you pray about gambling, what exactly are you praying for? Help in overcoming an addiction? The book of James offers advice about that, too. "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him." (James 1:5)
Pray to hit the jackpot, and odds are you'll come away disappointed. Seek wisdom in doing God's will, at a poker table or in the general challenges of life, and He's willing to provide.
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