A job is NOT the best social program!

“The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie, deliberate, contrived and dishonest, but the myth, persistent, persuasive and unrealistic.”  John F. Kennedy

  Did you know that if you swallow a piece of chewing gum, it remains in your body for seven years? Did you know that if you leave a tooth in a glass of Coke overnight by the next morning the tooth will be completely dissolved? Did you know that if enough people fill out “Jedi” as their religion on their census forms the government will have to make it an official religion? Did you know that Poinsettias are poisonous?

  None of those are true. They’re all myths. Did you know that, (and you’re going to hear this a lot during the upcoming election year), that “jobs are the best social program out there…that there is no social program as effective as a job.” One of my heroes, the late Ronald Reagan, appears to be the first one to say that “I believe the best social program is a job.” But President Reagan was wrong. Like most myths, this one has been repeated so often that it’s accepted as fact. Since it’s the Labor Day weekend, let’s consider a biblical worldview of the place of a job in our life.

  Statistics show that most voters, even the majority of Christians, vote based on economic values more than any other one issue. In other words, the vast majority of those who are part of the Kingdom of God vote based on kingdom of man values. It may take different avenues. For some it’s job security or the creation of jobs. For others, it’s lowered taxes, a growing economy or the stock market. The bottom line is it is economic and the majority of the time that’s translated into money and – my job.

  Please understand, it’s good to have a job. If you read last week’s Pastor’s Pen or are familiar with 2 Thessalonians 3:6-12, you know the Bible teaches that part of our God-given responsibility from Creation is work. It’s a continual theme of Scripture – God’s plan for human beings is to find fulfillment in work and responsibility, not just leisure and the weekend (that’s another myth we’ll work through at another time).

  Yet, politicians are indiscriminate, after all if “the best social program is a job,” it doesn’t matter what the job is – as long as it’s a job. That’s not what Scripture teaches. It’s discriminatory on what is “good work.” Scripture is permeated with ethical principles on what jobs are appropriate, as well as how employers and employees are to treat each other.  

  Not every job is a moral job. Personally, I’m disgusted at how many “conservative” officials have no issue with increasing gambling. They’re dilatory in their God-given responsibility to their constituents. It’s the responsibility of government to protect its citizens, particularly the disenfranchised who have difficulty protecting themselves. Every study shows that gambling is bad for society, that it takes advantage of the poor, elderly and uneducated. Nearly every school child knows that the nickname for Las Vegas is “Sin City.” Why? Because gambling rarely creeps in alone. The gambling disease is a carrier of adult bookstores, strip clubs, illicit drugs and prostitution. Often the Mob gets its fingers in a community via gambling. Even politicians realize the limitations of this naïve premise, “the best social program is a job” in that so far they’ve not legalized prostitution, lowered the drinking age, or legalized the sale of illicit drugs.

  Not every job is a good for your family. It’s increasingly rare to find those who are highly successful in their career in their original marriage. Often, if they’re still married to the same person later in life, the marriage is little more than a shell. It may be a matter of social convention or perhaps they kept it together for their children. Sadly, a thriving, healthy marriage is not the norm for highly successful individuals. In Scripture, we find those who were successful in their careers yet were often failures in their marriage. King David and his son, Solomon, are tragic examples.

  There are several factors that contribute to this. First, a healthy marriage demands time and cultivation. It’s hard to burn the midnight oil at work and have time for candlelit romantic dinners at home. Then, if you’re successful at work, you usually come home so weary your spouse often gets leftovers. Sometimes a successful person becomes addicted to success. It’s like they have a mistress and their spouse can’t compete. Plus, if you’re successful at work, your need for emotional and social support is usually filled there. Add to that, if you work a lot, when you finally come home, rather than being warmly welcomed, your spouse may grouse that you’re always working which motivates you to want to be away and work more.

  Sometimes to climb the corporate ladder, you must make frequent moves and your children are uprooted again and again. Not only do they resent leaving their friends, Dad is often unavailable because he has to put in inordinate amounts of time and attention on the new position. Success and child-raising rarely mix. And parents who are obsessed with their work, wealth or social standing usually devalue the task of bringing up children.

  Recently, the former CEO of Pimco, Mohamed El-Erian, explained why he’d resigned from his $100 million a year job. His 10-year-old daughter gave him a written list of 22 milestones he’d missed because of work – including the first day of school, a parent-teacher meeting and a Halloween parade. Even though he had legitimate excuses for every absence, he realized that none of the pressing meetings, travelling and so forth really mattered in the long run.

  Not every job is good for you spiritually. American evangelicals have deeply identified themselves with the culture’s unflinching belief that success is the point of human existence. It’s the defining value of American life. Please understand, idolatry is not a small, stone Buddha. Too many of us worship our work, which is why we have so little time for worshipping God. We spend little or no time with Him. Prayer is reserved for moments of desperation. We look for a worship experience that keeps a close eye on the clock because we “have so many things to do.” As G.K. Beale, wisely said, “We resemble what we revere, either for ruin or restoration.” Meaning, whatever we worship, we’ll seek to become like that object. It will either save or ruin our lives. Our walk with God in sanctification is meant to be a steady, faithful climb. That takes time, lots of it. You can’t be a human doing and a Christ-follower. 

  Is a job, is work important? Yes. But the best social program isn’t a job. It’s a relationship. It’s the Gospel. It’s knowing Jesus Christ and living for Him. Amazingly, when our relationship with God is as it should, so is everything else. So don’t believe the myth, believe God’s eternal truth! 

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What are the odds?

“Gambling: The sure way of getting nothing from something.”  Wilson Mizner

  Sadly, if you’re ever looking for a sure thing, you don’t have to look much further than what politicians will do to get elected. That was true a number of years ago as our elected officials sold us a bill of goods on the tremendous savings on property taxes if we had a State Lottery. The grand total of that tremendous savings is about $100 a year. And that’s just for those who own property. Those with a serious gambling problem experienced average gambling losses of nearly $100,000 each during their career as gamblers. At the time they finally sought help, the serious problem gamblers had debts averaging $38,644. More than one-fifth had turned to bankruptcy court to ward off their creditors.

  The political Sirens cry today is “jobs, jobs, jobs.” Please mark it down. Politicians, for the most part, are pragmatic and utilitarian. They also are very, very short sighted and can rarely see beyond the next election cycle.

  That’s the only explanation for the support for a casino in Kenosha. It’s all about jobs, but no one wants to ask the tough question, the one right after – “Will this help me get re-elected?” – What’s the cost?

  In an article on gambling a few years ago, Christian political analyst and commentator, Chuck Colson asked some pointed questions: “Should we support elected officials who deliberately set about to increase crime, divorce, suicide, child abuse, bankruptcy, and domestic violence? What would say if I told you that our own leaders are doing just that when they encourage gambling?”

  Chuck Colson was right. Gambling destroys our families, our communities and our country. Gambling ruins lives and wrecks families. There is a mountain of evidence which demonstrates a direct link between gambling and divorce, child abuse, domestic violence, bankruptcy, crime, and suicide.

  And we all know this nearly intuitively. Be honest. Would you want to live in either Atlantic City or Las Vegas? There’s a reason most us would rather live nearly anywhere else. It’s all of the societal evils associated with gambling that infect a community.

  Yet, gambling has been spreading like an epidemic across our country, with hardly a voice raised in opposition. And it’s no wonder. Gambling interests pump millions of dollars into the campaigns of Democrats and Republicans alike. Everyone knows that campaign money buys influence. What’s very troubling is that gambling interests go to such great lengths to hide from the public much of their buying effort. The fact is that gambling money can get you elected…or defeated, if you oppose it.

  Sadly, even some churches will use gambling to raise money. It reminds me of the story of a young man, canvassing the community, selling chances on $25.00 to be given away by local church of which the boy was a member. After carefully learning from the youngster the facts, one of his contacts asked, “Isn't that gambling?” The reply was, "Well, not if I do it for the church.” It’s a tragedy that some religious organizations resort to methods of gambling in order to raise money for their operations. This story illustrates that not only secular groups, but religious groups as well are involved in the spread of gambling. It’s the age old argument of “the end justifies the means.”  

  While the Bible never specifically addresses the subject of gambling, it provides us with a number of principles that can guide us on this issue. The Bible does not say, “You shall not gamble,” or “gambling is wrong,” but it does teach us that while we might be free to do many things, all things are not profitable and we should never be brought under the control or power of anything other than the reign of Christ in our lives (1 Cor. 10:23; 6:12).

  Gambling easily becomes addictive. It becomes a means of getting rich quick or of seeking fortune apart from constructive labor or work that is truly beneficial to society. God has given us each abilities and with training we can become productive members of society and of the body of Christ. Gambling seeks to bypass this process.

  Gambling is a form of state-sponsored greed. Romans 13 teaches that government is to be a minister of good and for God. Government should provide order in society and promote public virtue. Legalized gambling undercuts government’s role and subverts the moral fabric of society through greed and selfishness promoted by a state-sponsored vice.

  Gambling breeds covetousness. The 10^th Commandment commands us not to covet. Coveting, greed, and selfishness are the base emotions that entice us to gamble. Legalized gambling becomes an institutionalized form of greed.

  Gambling destroys the work ethic. Colossians 3:23-24 says, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” 2 Thessalonians 3:10, “For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.” The Twentieth Century Fund research group observed, “Gambling’s get-rich-quick appeal appears to mock capitalism’s core values: disciplined work habits, thrift, prudence, adherence to routine, and the relationship between effort and reward.” These core values of the work ethic are all part of the free enterprise system and are part of the Christian life. But gambling corrupts these values and replaces them with greed and selfishness. Rather than depending on hard work, gamblers depend instead upon luck and chance.

  Gambling destroys families. Gambling is a major cause of family neglect. As people get caught up in a gambling frenzy, they neglect their families. Money spent on lottery tickets or at horse tracks is usually not risk capital, it’s income that should be spent on family needs. The more gambling is legalized, the more that it tempts people to neglect their responsibility to care for their families and then those same families often end up on welfare, supported by the same government that legalized the disease.

  Gambling is bad social policy. It’s bad economic policy. It’s bad governmental policy. It undermines the moral foundations of society and invites corruption in government. As believers, we have a responsibility to be salt and light in our decaying world. That means that we need to hold our elected officials accountable. We need to let them know gambling is bad for our society, and they have a responsibility to do what is best for their constituents, not just what will get them elected.