Do the Hustle? 2

In an earlier post, we talked about playing in a qualifying tournament to win a seat at the World Series of Poker Main Event - a seat sponsored by Larry Flynt's Hustler Casino. As we kept playing, a thought came to our mind....

Me: If we win the seat, do we have to wear his casino logo?
Taek1: as long as hes giving away free money hes good in my books
ChipSmugler: right I think you will
Dealer: Taek1 wins Main Pot ($11220) with Two pair, jacks and sevens
ChipSmugler: family be real proud winning the Main Event with Hustler all over yalol
Me: Yeah I know.

Professional poker players wear website sponsored all over their shirts and hats. The thought of promoting something involving Larry Flynt isn't very appealing to us -- even though the Bible says:

"The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." - I Samuel 16:7b

Not everyone you see walking into a bar is an alcoholic. We could be walking inside to win money at poker, and do some ministry in the process. But there's another argument from Scripture which could be made here....

Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil. - I Thessalonians 5:21-22 (KJV)

We've understood this for decades to mean you shouldn't do anything which might give the impression to others that you're sinning. But after checking other translations and the Greek meaning of "appearance" as we write this, we're coming to a different conclusion. It's our eyes being discussed in this verse -- we shouldn't be looking on evil, as it might tempt us.

When we reached the final tables at Soho Bar and Grill the other night, we happened to sit with our back to a computer screen where people were looking at "soft porn" photos. We thank God for sitting where we did! This leads to one more comment from the chat....

Taek1: gambling is just as bad as pornso who cares

When it comes to sin, that player has a good point.

For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. - James 2:10

As some "church folks" like to put it: sin is sin is sin. You're equally guilty before God if you're a mass murderer or a neighborhood gossip.

We wound up 23rd in this tournament out of 243 players; the top ten qualified for the final tournament to win a Main Event seat. Yet as we consider all this, we're admittedly not comfortable trying to win this seat if it means being connected with Larry Flynt. Other contests may have less "baggage"; then again, they might actually have more.