EVERYBODY WINS! EVERYBODY WINS
That’s what former Oklahoma Coach Barry Switzer shouts at the beginning of a commercial for a casino in Joplin Missouri. Did we hear that right Barry Switzer and John Daly are around a gaming table and Barry Switzer shouts out Everybody Wins! Everybody Wins! Really? You mean if I drive up to Joplin and go to that casino I’ll win a bunch of money because EVERYBODY WINS! I don’t know why but I never thought that’s how it works in casinos. I thought it was like today’s song The Winner Takes it All the loser is standing small. And I thought if I took a bunch of friends up to Joplin instead of winning couldn’t we get arrested for “working” together? I could be wrong because according to Barry that’s right EVERYBODY WINS!
OK I know who the black guy with the funny hair is. It’s Billy Sims, if you don’t know who he is I copied and pasted this from the internet:
Billy Sims
Football PlayerBilly Ray Sims is a former American college and professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League for five seasons during the 1980s. Sims played college football for the University of Oklahoma, where he was a two-time consensus All-American, and won the Heisman Trophy in 1978. He was the first overall pick in the 1980 NFL Draft, and played professionally for the NFL’s Detroit Lions. Sims was the last Oklahoma player taken Number 1 overall in the NFL Draft until quarterback Sam Bradford was taken first in the 2010 NFL Draft. He was given the nickname “Kung Fu Billy Sims” by ESPN’s Chris Berman, after a game where the Detroit Lions played the Houston Oilers. In the NFL Films highlight, rather than be tackled during a rushing attempt, Sims ran at, jumped, and, while fully airborne, kicked Oilers Cornerback Steve Brown in the head.
I’m sorry I made fun of his hair but I’m proud he’s working in casinos commercials after all his playing career is long over and it’s good to see he has his gambling habit to fall back on.
And speaking of a gambling habit the King of gambling habits, John Daly is the true star of these commercials. This is a video of John Daly telling how he lost $55 million or maybe it’s $57 million he doesn’t really know.
Should someone who has lost that much money be a spokesman for a casino? I think every time John Daly appears on the commercial in huge letters across the screen it should say this guy has lost millions gambling! I must be the only one that feels that way because Big John has been doing these commercials for years. And the video was from May of 2014 so how much more money has he lost since then?
This is the first time that the song of the day is so far down in the post because in took this long of an introduction to make my point that the winner takes it all. And as far as I know there aren’t any casinos that gives refunds! The song The Winner Takes it All is an old ABBA song but it has found new popularity since the two Mama Mia movies. Cher stars in those movies and today’s song comes from her movie soundtrack. This is the second time I have featured Cher in the Song of the Day. The first was Cher’s song Half-bred where I compared the hatred in the song to the hatred the Jews had for the Samaritans because the Samaritans intermarried with the Gentiles which made them “half-breds” and not true Jews. Please go back and read my post on this, you might find it interesting.
The reason I made this post is that today is Good Friday and it’s because of what happened on Good Friday that Southern Baptist believe that it’s a sin to gamble. As a Southern Baptist I have never been in a casino and do not plan to ever going to one. I have never bought a lottery ticket and never will. This doesn’t make me better than those who do but I know why I believe it’s a sin to gamble.
John 19 23-24: 23.Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also his coat. Now the coat was without seam. woven from the top throughout. 24. They said, therefore, among themselves, Let us not tear it but cast lots for it, whose it shall be; that the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, They parted my raiment among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots. These things, therefore, the soldiers did.
There are also passages of scripture from the Old Testament that Southern Baptist use to believe gambling is a sin, but today I’ll focus on the cross. For this above all other scripture is why Southern Baptist believe that gambling is a sin. Let’s get the picture what is happening in these two verses, Jesus is hanging on the cross but the soldiers eyes are not on Jesus they are looking down, at the foot of the cross, trying to win something for them selves. Taking their eyes off of Jesus reminds us of when Jesus walked on water and Peter getting out of boat and also was walking on water. That is until Peter took his eyes off of Jesus, then he began to sink. To make it clear it the 23rd verse that says, when they had crucified Jesus, this doesn’t mean after Jesus died it meant after they did their job of hanging him, Jesus could look down from the cross and watch them gamble for his coat. Is that how you want Jesus to see you with your eyes off of him and gambling just like the Roman soldiers below the cross. Then what’s the difference between you and those soldiers?
Should you pray to Jesus that he should help you win the lottery or at a casino, that is another casino not the one in Joplin where everybody wins. It turns out I can answer that. While the Roman soldiers were gambling at the foot of the cross, Mary, the mother of Jesus was also there at the cross. Jesus could had called her over there and helped her win his stuff back. That’s right Jesus didn’t even help his own mother to win at gambling so why do think he would help you win the lottery? I’ll bet your pastor never asked you that! I don’t even know the odds of that.
Another reason why Southern Baptist believe it’s a sin to gamble and followers of Jesus should not be involved in any type of gambling is we should strive to be Christlike not like the rest of the world that doesn’t know our savior. This is also one of the main reasons why Southern Baptist believe we shouldn’t drink alcohol or go to bars. The Bible says that when you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior that you become a new “creature” that the old is taken away and everything becomes new. Part of your new life in Christ is to free yourself from your old life, the Bible teaches you can become a “slave” to sin and Jesus will free you. Do you think John Daly is enslaved by his gambling addiction? As you know the same will happen with alcohol. Jesus is our example and we are to be an example to the lost world (those who do not know Jesus as their Lord and Savior) where when they look at us they will see something different in us that they don’t have. Then, hopefully, they will Accept Jesus into their hearts.
So here on Good Friday (OK I know today’s Saturday I tried to get this done yesterday but life got in my way) when we think of what Jesus did on the cross, I thought that there may even be Southern Baptist who don’t understand why we don’t believe in gambling and I tried to do my best to explain our believes. I hope to get better at it the more I write my blog.