I would like to give you a personal testimony to help answer your question. When the Lord saved me I was in the “liquor business” with my parents and my oldest brother. Even before I was saved, the Lord began to convict me that it was wrong to sell liquor. I witnessed firsthand how liquor had been a curse to many people. I saw families destroyed by abusing alcohol and I did not want to contribute to this curse in any way, shape, matter or form. I got saved shortly after this and I told people I was leaving the family business for this reason. Some asked me for a definite scripture as to why I was leaving. I suppose I could have cited passages like Proverbs 20:1 and 23:29-30 which say, “Wine is a mocker, Strong drink is a brawler, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise….Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? Those who linger long at the wine, those who go in search of mixed wine” (NKJV). Yet I wanted to give them a scripture which exhorts the believer to leave a business that is not in keeping with the Christian life, so I gave them the following verses from 1st Corinthians 7:17-24:

“But as God has distributed to each one, as the Lord has called each one, so let him walk…Was anyone called while circumcised? Let him not become uncircumcised. Was anyone called while uncircumcised? Let him not be circumcised…Let each one remain in the same calling in which he was called. Were you called while a slave? Do not be concerned about it…Brethren, let each one remain WITH GOD in that state in which he was called.”

In this passage the apostle Paul is emphasizing that once a person is saved, he should remain in the “calling” (i.e. position, circumstances) he is in. This would include the “occupation” you happen to be in when the grace of God saves you. Yet there is a RESTRICTION put in verse 24, “let each one remain WITH GOD in that state in which he was called.” Those two words “with God” imply “fellowship with God.” What happens if one is saved and he is in an occupation where he can NOT have fellowship with God? That was the case with me, for there is no way that I could “abide in fellowship with God” while remaining in the liquor business. My conscience was defiled by what I was doing and thus my fellowship with God would have been broken had I stayed.

Now let’s ask the question honestly, “Is a gambling establishment an occupation that you can be involved in and still have fellowship WITH GOD?” We saw from Proverbs that liquor can lead a person astray and cause untold sorrow. Is this not also true with gambling? I have met persons who are addicted to gambling and it (like liquor) has been a curse to them, causing them to lose all their money, their job, and even their families. Some have even taken their own life! Would you like to contribute to this curse by owning a gambling establishment? I am not trying to “be your conscience,” but in light of the scriptures we’ve seen would you be able to “remain in that occupation WITH GOD?” (277.1) (DO)