We mentioned in a recent post about how we probably stunned a casino dealer with comments about keeping a seventh-day Sabbath. He may well have wondered why someone inside a casino would care (much less talk) about doing anything religious.
For us, it comes down to a series of key Bible verses....
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.... - Galatians 5:1
Does that verse surprise you? It could, if you think of God as simply a tough disciplinarian. Yet the apostle Paul goes on to write some words even more stunning:
You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. - Galatians 5:4
Some have "fallen from grace" not into sinful living, but into the exact opposite - trying to earn their way into God's Kingdom by keeping laws as perfectly as possible. It's nice to keep those laws if you can. But keep in mind:
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast. - Ephesians 2:8-9
If you know the right people at a poker room, they might give you a discount on buying in to a tournament or cash game. They've shown grace toward you. And the only way humans can achieve salvation and a life beyond this one is through the grace of God. So....
You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. - Galatians 5:13
Some might say we're "indulging" that nature by playing poker. We've posted thoughts about that elsewhere on this blog. But we try to be careful enough with our play not to bring it up to people who might consider it a stumbling-block to their faith. That's how we try to show love for them.
So celebrate freedom today - but with care. If you're entering a big holiday poker tournament, don't go overboard in a sinful direction to do it. Keep in mind the often-overlooked words of a patriotic U.S. song: "Thy liberty in law."
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