If you’re a regular reader of the Ewellogy, you know that I’ve decried the evils of gambling several times, bemoaning its seeming omnipresence and wondering why. Why is gambling on sports, for example, now considered normal? I might have just found the answer in a long article recommended by Seth Godin on May 8, 2024: “The State of the Culture,” by Ted Gioia, February 18, 2024.

I recommend Ted’s article in its entirety (it’s long but worth it). He argues that art is swallowed up by entertainment, which is swallowed up by a culture of distraction, which is rapidly moving toward a culture of addiction.

Source: Ted Gioia, www.honest-broker.com

Ted reviewed for us the “addiction cycle” which involves the chemical release of dopamine in the body:

What grabbed my attention and provided the answer for the sudden surge of gambling was Ted’s chart on how what he calls the Dopamine Culture works out in real life:

There it is, right on the first line: gambling is the search for the dopamine hit, called by some, “the buzz.” I’ve written before about a friend who came to faith in Christ, in his words, “After coming off of a three-day drunk having dropped $50,000 in the Super Bowl.” How did he get his start gambling? By getting the buzz while playing penny poker in the Marines.

As believers we need to be on our guard and live intentionally.

Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil. (Proverbs 4.25 – 27, NIV)