"Don't cause problems for someone with a weak conscience, just because you have the right to eat something.... Then what you know has destroyed someone Christ died for." -- I Corinthians 8:9, 11 (CEV)
Paul wrote this guidance about food offered to idols. But a sermon we heard on radio this week reminded us the principle applies to poker as well.
We're very careful in how we talk with fellow church members about poker. We realize some might consider it a sin simply to walk into a nightclub or poker room, where alcohol and tobacco (among other things) flow freely. Others might consider it "the spirit of gambling," even though the tournament is free to play.
We've said it here before: if you're easily tempted to excess with alcohol or gambling, playing poker outside a home or church probably isn't right for you. Online games are a comparatively safe alternative -- although bad language and attitudes can be problems there as well.
We have yet to invite anyone in our church congregations to join us on a poker night. If they're curious about where we play, we'll tell them. Otherwise, we don't want to offend by being imposing.
By extension, we hope you don't offend other poker players in a room with your habits. Don't force alcohol or tobacco on anyone who doesn't want it. That's showing courtesy. As Paul put it in another letter: "Let each esteem other better than themselves" (Philippians 2:3, KJV).
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