John and his wife Jane loved to back horses but one day Jane went to church and got converted! She soon found such joy in following Christ that she no longer needed to gamble. Some words of Jesus also made her feel guilty, He said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” [ Acts 20:35 ]. Jane knew that betting was teaching her to get rather than to give so she gave it up.

Once a week John asked Jane to back a certain horse whilst he was out at work. Jane was unhappy about this so she asked God for wisdom. The result was that the next time John gave her betting money she hid it in a mug in a cupboard and prayed that the horse wouldn’t win – and it didn’t! Week after week the money built up in the mug then one week he had a winner so she paid him from the mug! Years passed and there was always enough money to pay his winnings, in fact the mug became too small so she opened a special bank account.

Sadly John became ill and after surgery the doctor recommended a holiday which John knew was impossible because he’d lost so much on the horses. At first he was ashamed to say anything to Jane because he said to himself, “Gambling has made me miserable but God has made her happy!” Eventually he explained the situation to Jane who joyfully told him about the mug and how they had plenty of money to go on holiday.

After the holiday John himself turned to Christ and began to experience the true joy of giving rather than the false joy of gambling. “Gambling is a mug’s game,” he said!

Note, history teaches us that gambling ruins families and nations and increases theft and violence.