Individual Wellness Blog
by Shawn Maassel
Most people have behaviors and habits in their family history that they do not want to repeat. I know mine does. Our family has a history of alcohol overuse and other addictive tendencies. But (by the grace of God), gambling is not one of them. Unfortunately, that is not true for a large majority of households these days.
On Maryland’s November 2020 ballots, voters approved a sports-betting expansion measure, justifying additional legalized gambling by earmarking revenues for education. I remember feeling discouraged at the supposed ‘win’, doubting the benefits would outweigh the negative consequences.
Sure enough, online sports betting has grown to unhealthy levels. The habit (addiction for some) has many enduring the fallout. I frequently hear stories of devastation due to gambling addictions. People (quite often young men with families) have gambling debts that are impacting their households. A young woman told a podcaster that her husband had racked up $30,000 in debt, and it was destroying their marriage. A friend shared that she and her missionary husband saw Kenyan men, who work at the hospital where she and her husband serve, asking for advances on their monthly income checks to pay their gambling debts. I was shocked. She reminded me that it has become very easy to bet online, and they, too, have this digital access.
Gambling is even changing the face of the sports that are at the center of the bets. Players, teams, and games seem to be controlled by those who run the gambling industry. And all of us who watch sports cannot avoid the gambling language now integrated into advertising and commentating.
It didn’t take long for states to realize the habit would soon encroach on those even too young to legally gamble. Consequently, gambling addiction education was added alongside drug and alcohol programs in middle and high school curriculums. How ironic that our education system has had to add programming, which is in essence being funded by revenues from the focus of concern in the new curricula!
But this blog is not just a rant about my concerns over the prevalence of gambling addiction. It is about our habits (which can become addictions) that can either fuel wellness or not.
I recently heard about a healthy, life-giving habit many are developing as a result of the YouVersion Bible app. Sadie Robertson, on her Whoa, That’s Good podcast, interviewed Bobby Gruenewald, creator of YouVersion, which is celebrating one billion installs of the app. This app was created as a digital way to help people develop the healthy habit of reading their Bible regularly, and it is working. Through the app people across the globe are reading Scripture more regularly than ever before! During November, partners of YouVersion, celebrities, and even Times Square are promoting ‘Celebrate the Bible’ and challenging people to read the Bible every day in November – 30 days!
Mr. Gruenewald reported that hard copy Bible sales have increased as well. There seems to be an interest revival in what God’s Word has to say. It is theorized that people are seeking an alternative to the information put out through AI, which can be deceptive. Many young adults seeking truth realize that technology allows the truth to be tweaked. They are looking for what we Christians know doesn’t change – God and His Word. And by accessing the Bible easily and for free, reading it is becoming a healthy habit.
Contrasted to online gambling & sports betting, digital tools such as the YouVersion Bible app (and others) can help us develop habits with healthy spiritual and lasting (eternal) consequences. We can choose the behaviors that may soon become habitual. Discerning possible consequences and seeking God’s help to instill life-giving habits will not only bless our daily walks here on earth, but may guide others in theirs as well.
If you would like to speak with a Wellness Coach about a habit you would like to develop or give up, please know that the SED has wellness and sabbatical coaches ready to walk along with you in your wellness efforts. Please contact Rev. Travis Guse at tguse@se.lcms.org for more information.
Shawn Maassel is a retired church worker, having served First Lutheran Church & Little Lambs Preschool (Huntingtown, MD) for 25 years. She continues volunteering at FLC & LLPS, leads fitness classes for Body & Soul Fitness®, and Bible studies with First Place 4 Health. She enjoys time with her husband and traveling to visit their long-distance children and grandsons. Follow her other blogs and posts at: inhiscourts.com and on YouTube.