Are You Gambling Your Life Away?

CBN.com - "I could stay there for 2 or 3 days or however long it took for me to lose," said Rick. "I won $6,400 dollars at one casino, stopped at another one and I lost it."

Rick Morton was a compulsive gambler. He was so hooked, that nothing else mattered, not even his wife and 2 children.

"If I lost money, I had to borrow money to make money and go win it back. Or if I won money, I had to go the next day to win more. Nothing else mattered -- mortgage, bills -- nothing."

Nothing got in the way of his gambling. Not the bad checks he wrote or the bad men who came to collect on them.

"Every compulsive gambler is a compulsive liar. You're always trying to hide the fact that you're gambling so your whole life is a lie."

When he gambled, the stakes were high. But nothing compared to his greatest loss. One day, Rick dropped his wife off at work, then drove to Atlantic City to gamble. He thought he'd be there an hour or two. But 2 hours turned into 4, and 4 hours turned into 8. Before he knew it, Rick had spent an entire day and most of the night gambling -- neglecting to pick up his wife from work. And for his wife, that was the last straw. Rick's marriage was over.

Still, the gambling continued. For 10 long years, Rick played the game and lost until one day Rick got a wake-up call.

"I had a heart attack."

Rick thought he was going to die. As he lay in the hospital bed, after having triple bypass surgery, Rick knew it was time to make his life right with God.

"It was an awakening," Rick said. "I had always believed in God. I had always believed in Jesus. I had always thought of myself as saved, but I had back-slidden on a number of fronts, not just gambling."

With a simple prayer, Rick gave his life back to God. Then he began the long, painful process of rebuilding a life wasted on gambling. For the first time, Rick held down a steady job as a cab dispatcher where he was allowed to have a television on while he worked. That's where Rick discovered The 700 Club.

"I started to pray when they offered prayer, which led me to pray more on my own. I got back to reading the Bible."

The 700 Club also offered Rick much more. As a former compulsive gambler, Rick now needed solid, biblical teaching on how to manage his finances. As he listened to Pat Robertson teach about practical money management and biblical giving, Rick decided to become a member of The 700 Club.

"I think watching The 700 Club helped me to realize that it was important to become involved in other people's lives and not just think of yourself all the time."

And when Rick heard about needy children in the Philippines, and how American kindergarten kids were raising money to help, Rick was moved to give even more.

"The part that really touched me was when the school children in America actually put lunch in the garbage. They had enough faith to believe God would deliver their sandwich to the dump, to the children that needed it. That took me from being a 700 Club member to a 1000 Club member."

As Rick learns more about God's love, with the help of The 700 Club broadcast, he loves knowing that he's a part of a greater plan. A plan to touch the world with the word of God and the love of Jesus Christ.

Won't you be a part of that plan too? Through your partnership with CBN, you will help feed hunger children here in America and around the world, give practical teaching and biblical answers through The 700 Club broadcast, and bring relief to those with physical and spiritual needs. Please join today.