whatta weekend

was in vegas all weekend, mostly without internet. so when the need to blog came upon me, i old schooled it in a notebook at the sportsbook with the colts game in the background. my thoughts on last week's lectionary passage from matthew (22:15-22):

the jist: should we pays taxes? yes. give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor's and to God the things that are God's. what in my life belongs to God?

so much of life--good and bad--is not as simple as it seems. the saducees asked a questions that to the onlookers probably seemed straightforward. the romans were the oppressors, so to pay taxes is to the complicit in your own oppression (if you were jewish). but to jesus, that was not the issue as hand (with jesus is the simple questions ever the real questions?). so i am left to ponder what in my life can i really render unto God?

there are interesting questions to ponder in vegas. floating all around me is money, money money, and symbols for money. given a literal interpretation of this lesson, it is only appropriate that the house usually wins, as the casino's picture is on the chips... So if all the money in the room (in the bars, the casinos, the hotels, the resorts) isn't God's what is?

the people.

as with many things, i am not wholesale against gambling. i make a fair attempt at live and let live. i don't think a legalistic approach to ethics and morals does anyone any good. but why is this my approach? is is a real stance or just liberal wishy washy indecision not wanting to hurt anyone? turns out i can find that answer in this passage from matthew.

if the money is not God's, we can play with it when it is just consenting adults playing. Are there better ways to spend money? for me the answer is yes, but i cannot decide that for anyone else. when it is not just a game--when people fall apart, when families fall apart, when mortgages cannot be paid, when someone loses their self-respect, that is when gambling is problematic for me. when gambling hurts what is God's--people--it is wrong.

so if i can remember who i belong to, i will be more apt to respect myself and make good decisions. and hopefully enourage others to do the same.