Greed Wins Again!

“Greed is the inventor of injustice as well as the current enforcer.”

Julian Casablancas

Earlier this month (October 8^th), a fan was kicked out of a basketball game for holding up a sign calling for freedom for Hong Kong and for yelling a freedom-for-Hong-Kong slogan. One of the teams on the court was a Chinese team from Guangzhou, the Loong Lions. But this game wasn’t being held in Beijing or Peking. It was in Philadelphia…the birthplace of American freedom. Just feet from where our forefathers signed the Declaration of Independence, Americans were told that they couldn’t show public support for basic human freedoms in China. This was right after the NBA forced an apology onto the Houston Rockets general manager for tweeting, “fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong.” Why? Greed!

  The NBA is poised to make $1.5 billion off its streaming agreement with Chinese media company, Tencent, over the next five years, so the NBA is willing to slam dunk basic human rights to increase their bottom line.

  Basketball is the most popular sport in the world’s most populous country. There are more NBA fans in China than there are people in the United States. The NBA is willingly being fiscally blackmailed by a repressive nation known for forced abortions, harvesting organs, and the abuse of religious minorities, like the Muslim Uighur community.

  That’s not to mention China’s recent blood-drenched history. Chinese Communists make the Nazis look like Boy Scouts. There’s a general consensus among historians that after Chairman Mao and the Communists came to power,  political purges caused the deaths of tens of millions.

  Today most have forgotten the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. Estimates of the death toll vary from several hundred to several thousand, with thousands more wounded. What’s ironic is how quickly the NBA was ready to boycott North Carolina over bathrooms a few years ago, but now kowtow to a brutal Chinese government…all for the love of money.

  Yet, the NBA is hardly exceptional. In recent years, American and European companies have made a regular habit of apologizing for their accidental contradictions of China’s Communist Party line. Last year, Marriott fired a social-media manager for liking a post complimenting the hotel chain for its (unintentional) endorsement of Tibetan independence. Around the same time, Mercedes-Benz issued an apology for quoting the Dalai Lama on Instagram. After learning that one of its t-shirts featured a map of China that didn’t include Taiwan or various disputed islands in the South China Sea, the Gap expressed its regrets and affirmed its respect for “China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.” Versace apologized for a similar offense last August, saying, “Versace reiterates that we love China deeply, and resolutely respect China’s territory and national sovereignty.”

  By itself, U.S. consumer brands’ disinterest in advocating for Tibetan independence or democracy in Hong Kong isn’t especially concerning. But capitulation on these largely symbolic issues (symbolic in the sense that Gap T-shirts won’t make or break the “Free Tibet” movement) clearly indicate that corporate America is virtually absent of a moral compass or compassion for the oppressed or brutalized. Greed massacres freedom!

  Christians have largely been concerned about Big Brother, and the oppression of biblical values but been oblivious to Big Business’s oppression of Christianity. But corporate America is no friend of grace or the people of God. Think about it. If corporations won’t support the defense of basic human rights by an oppressive regime like China, do we believe that religious freedom won’t also be sacrificed? Giant corporations like Google, Twitter, Facebook have been caught censoring Christian posts and organizations.

  Just consider the malicious media slandering and political blackballing of Chick-fil-a because their owners dare to espouse a biblical worldview. Yet, it’s common knowledge that Chick-fil-A serves, employs, pays, and offers benefits to people who consider themselves gay, queer, lesbian, bi, and any other sexually-specific identity a person wants to claim. They don’t discriminate or show partiality or prejudice. They simply sell chicken sandwiches in clean restaurants (except on Sundays).

  What infuriates those who hold a different worldview is that the owners of Chick-fil-A are Christians who personally hold to a belief in the biblical moral ethic. That’s it! They’re believers striving to honor God and live in obedience to His Word. That obedience means loving others, serving others, helping others and doing all things (even selling chicken sandwiches) as though they’re working for God Himself and not for man.

  Even an innocuous site like Pinterest censors and blocks certain Bible verses and Christian terms in its search engine. While a quick search makes it clear that some Bible verses are still allowed on Pinterest, one employee whistleblower revealed that the company’s auto-complete function was modified and there is hostility against some Christian beliefs. 

  Yet, none of this should surprise us. Jesus promised that, “If the world hates you, know that it has hated Me before it hated you” (John 15:18). While in America we should defend our Constitutional rights while we can, just as the Apostle Paul defended his rights as a Roman citizen, we must also be known as the people of love and grace. We’re to turn the other cheek (Mt. 5:38-40), and love and pray for our enemies (Rom. 12:14-21).

  Most vocations are no longer exempt from the conflict between career and convictions. As Christians, we must develop a “theology of getting fired” and answer the tough questions before they’re forced on us: “What am I willing to take a stand for and get fired over?” God’s grace is sufficient. He has called us to live as His light in an increasingly darkening world. We’re not the first who’ve faced these dilemmas. As God has been faithful to all those who have come before us, He will be faithful to us!

Can we help you spiritually? Can we help you know Jesus better? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or, call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address. 

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.