(22) Playing the Odds by Nora Roberts

This is the Serena part of The MacGregors.

It is an interesting story of a very rich young woman falling for a gambler turned casino-hotels owner. I am afraid I have the middle class phobia of gambling. It is not exactly unheard of to know of people who gambled a fortune away and then in a moment of despair, the poor guy jumped from high enough to die instantly leaving behind a widow with young children. Both men and women have incurred in big debts in our only hill top casino and later disappeared without a trace: either they run away successfully or they died.

In one of my life groups, a man was a compulsive gambler before he turned his life over to Jesus. He said it is like alcoholism, he just lives one day at a time. He has been clean for more than fifteen years now. Any game of chance still attracts his attention. Daily he simply prays and resists the pull. It is not difficult to say no but he would have to continue to say no to betting of all types.

I suppose a game like black jack holds better odds than slot machines or other forms of gambling. My father had been a betting man. According to my mum, overall he lost more than he won in a life time of betting 4 digits that used to be based on horse racing. He borrowed money to get married. Had he worked and saved money to pay back the debt, it would have taken him many years indeed. When his first born son came home, he won a lottery that paid him many thousands of dollars. He was a practicing Taoist all his life, there was nothing to stop him from gambling and hoping for quick gains. Of course money that came that quickly also dissipated quickly. He would never say no to poor friends and relatives who asked him for a loan when he had money in his pocket. He might not have been a wise man but he was open handed. I suppose those who lend to the poor and do not oppress them can be taken as lending to the Lord. Throughout his life, he has never been in need of money. God had paid him back amply. You see, God is no man's debtor. Although my father did not know Him while alive, he had been living by biblical principles, therefore he had been enjoying the blessings of God even as an unbeliever.