Prominent pastor and theologian John Piper recently penned a blog post unveiling the seven reasons that he believes Christians shouldn’t play the lottery, saying that it is “spiritually suicidal.”

In addition to citing his views on the spiritual toll, Piper, who published his brief piece on his Desiring God website, offered up the following reasons why he believes Christians should abstain from the lottery:

• “It is a kind of embezzlement.”
• “It’s a fool’s errand.”
• “The system is built on the necessity of most people losing.”
• “It preys on the poor.”
• “There is a better alternative.”
• “For the sake of quick money, government is undermining the virtue without which it cannot survive.”

As for the claim that the lottery is spiritually suicidal, Piper offered up the text of 1 Timothy 6:9–10, which reads, ”Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.”

Read the article “‘Spiritually Suicidal’: Theologian Unveils 7 Reasons Why He Says Christians Shouldn’t Play the Lottery” on theblaze.com.