Letter to the Editor

Expanded gambling threatens way of life

Friday, October 1, 2004

As a leader in a faith community, I am concerned as our beloved state of Nebraska navigates the deeply divisive controversy of gambling and the votes that will determine future reality. My faith in Jesus Christ calls me to speak on this issue before us.

The question that I believe we must always ask is: "What does this mean for the good of our communities?"

Expanded gambling seems damaging and even dangerous to several key tenets of our own living and our lives together:

STEWARDSHIP...

Faith teaches that all we are and all we have comes from the benevolent graces of our kind and loving Creator. Christian stewardship is the profound belief that we are trusted managers of God's gifts of life and creation, and that we are accountable to wisely oversee all that God shares.

Can a Christian ever exhibit pure license when it comes to the use of money, i.e., "It is my money and what I do with it doesn't matter?" No faithful giver would say, "God does not care how I spend the rest of my money."

Gifts from God are to be used with God in mind. Jesus spoke more about how we personally distribute wealth than about almost any other topic. Jesus told powerful stories about people who did not manage prudently and His judgments were not light.

Gambling, even when it is only seen as an entertainment, wastes potential possibilities. Trusting chance or luck does not edify or build up anyone. Does saying it is only entertainment mean we no longer are responsible? Is gambling built upon coveting, which God so strongly condemns?

COMPASSION...

Lives are at stake! From my personal experience as a pastor, some of the most difficult and heart wrenching situations had to do with folks who were addicted to gambling.

It seemed to permeate lives that were being thrown away and families recklessly damaged.

I've spent many hours with tear-filled parents and families trying to understand how best to care for their loved one who was addicted.

Are we our brother's/ sister's keeper? Do we have an obligation to care for others, even those who hurt themselves? I have experienced far too many church folks who wash their hands saying: "It doesn't affect me. I can control myself," without hearing Christ's call to "love your neighbor as yourself."

What does it say about our faith when we simply take care of ourselves and dismiss others who are drowning around us?

Gambling is powerfully addictive. An Iowa study by Gemini Research for the Iowa Dept. of Human Services in 1995 showed that 1.7 percent of Iowans had gambling addiction problems. In 1996, after tribal casinos opened, an updated study showed that 5.4 percent of Iowans had gambling addiction problems.

Two years after slot machines were introduced in Deadwood, S.D., reports of child abuse rose by 42 percent, reports of domestic violence rose by 80 percent, and arrests for drunk driving elevated by 70 percent in that community, according to "The Economic impacts of Legalized Gambling Activities," Prof. J.W. Kindt, Drake Law Review, Drake University, Des Moines, Iowa. Many lives are at stake!

COMMUNITY...

God designed creation so that we would live in community. We need each other. The rhythm of life dictates a concern for "the good of all."

Together we seek to serve God by serving one another.

In the midst of challenging economic times, there are those who argue that expanded legalized gambling will bring about much needed relief for providing revenue for use by the state.

They argue that people are gambling anyway in Iowa and South Dakota, and we should simply keep the money in our state.

Do we learn from the experience of others? In Council Bluffs, since casinos opened, the taxes have been raised three times; property taxes twice and sales tax once, according to the Omaha World Herald, 3/12/02.

Three years after the casinos were opened in Council Bluffs, they had the highest crime rate in Iowa, and in 2004, its region experienced the highest growth rate in bankruptcies in the United States, according to the Des Moines Register, 3/24/02.

In fact, bankruptcy rates in counties with casinos are 18 percent higher than those without casinos, says SMR Research Corp., 1997.

Businesses are hurt. According to Iowa State University findings, since casinos opened in mid-size Iowa cities, there is virtually no growth in retail sales, while in communities without casinos there is a 43 percent healthy growth rate difference.

Very good resources are available: Our ELCA Social Statement "Sufficient, Sustainable Livelihood for All"; and an adult study on gambling can be found on the internet at www.elca.org/socialstatements/economiclife/gambling/.

We are stewards of God's calling, compassionate followers who care deeply about the communities in which God's people live.

-- deFreese serves as Bishop of the Nebraska Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. A graduate of Augustana College, Sioux Falls, South Dakota and Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, Illinois, Pastor deFreese was ordained in 1982 at Kountze Memorial Lutheran Church, Omaha. He served three Nebraska congregations: Christ Lutheran, Pierce, (1982-1986); Immanuel Lutheran, Bellevue, (1986-1993); and First Lutheran Church, Kearney, (1993 - 2000) until he was elected Nebraska Synod Bishop in June 2000. Bishop deFreese lives in Gretna.

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