Quote:
Originally Posted by Ohio
IIRC, that message was part of a series of books, "Do All to the Glory of God," in a section on recreation and playing games. Nee felt we should never play games of chance, a very extreme view, and only play games of skill. He did not differentiate between casino gambling and home games, nor did he differentiate between playing for fun and playing for money. I remember thinking, "chess good, monopoly bad."
How could a family game using chance, i.e. the rolling of dice, be bad for Christians? Playing games is a great family activity, especially for Christians. It's real hard for old and young to play games like Scrabble together, and rolling dice becomes a great equalizer. Nee didn't think so.
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It is also completely impractical. All business decisions are a game of chance. All career decisions are a game of chance. Is a game of cards gambling or skill? Obviously gambling when you are looking at those who are addicts and have blown their life savings. Obviously skill when you are talking about Warren Buffet playing bridge.
Every year I have to decide what the best use of my time is for my students to get the maximum benefit, if I make a mistake I will find out at the end of the year. Therefore I use a lot of statistical analysis, almost on a daily basis, to determine what the best use of my time is. It is a gamble. Like all gambling, knowledge is power, the better your information, the better your decisions. Figuring this out is not that different from the process a Bridge player goes through in order to bid.
This was one of those things that WN taught that I quietly decided to discard while still in the LRC. Gambling can be an addiction, like alcohol, so it is better when you are talking to a church of thousands to be concerned with those who are former addicts. But, it is also something that is necessary and useful, so what you do privately, let each be persuaded in his own conscience.