Article November 11, 1991 Issue

Taking the sure route away from gambling

Life is far too important to leave to chance. We find sure footing in realizing the certain future of God's man.

Tony Lobl

My own gambling compulsion started very modestly. It grew very subtly. And it flourished, eventually, very aggressively! I tried to wean myself from the gambling experience that I was addicted to by willful determination, and succeeded ... for a few days, weeks, or occasionally even months at a time. But time and again the urge to invest my hard-earned wages in a game of chance would overcome me once more, and I'd be back at "my post," playing away my pay packet.

Looking back, I find it hard to imagine ever having been hooked on such a fruitless endeavor as gambling, but certainly at the time it felt like an all-consuming passion. It wasn't just the vain hope of making money that was so alluring; it was also a perceived lifestyle, glorified in many movies and books, that seemed overwhelmingly compelling to me.

But for those who want to be weaned from the gambling habit and have fruitlessly tried to leave it behind, I can offer genuine encouragement. Studying the teachings of Christian Science and learning to live according to its moral and spiritual demands brought me freedom.

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