the fallen world
i went to burswood, perth's sole casino, to watch soccer at the sports bar. and as i walked out, God opened my eyes to the people around me.
finding a parking space in burswood is ridiculously difficult. seriously. cars line the sidewalk. they parallel park and they also park ON the pavements. and in the handicap lots. actually, they park in any available space. as long as the other illegally parked cars around them can get out, they park, knowing that they've done their bit for humanity.
it's a saturday night, and burswood is probably at its busiest, at its peak. the casino is filled with people trying their luck at every imaginable machine. and interestingly so, most of the croupiers are asians. one of the first few things i noticed, as i tottered in in my ridiculously high boots that bring me 10cm closer to his too-high height of 188cm.
the asian noodle restaurant is named eighty-eight noodles, no doubt for the sake of projecting an image of "luck" and "fortune". i wouldn't be surprised if fengshui played a part in the entire design and layout of the casino either. actually, i'm pretty sure it did. there are so many asians milling around. asians, and australian seniors.
what struck me on the way out was the number of people placing their hopes and dreams into these machines and their hand of cards. coffee there only costs a dollar, no doubt to encourage people to stay awake, to keep playing, to keep spending, in hopes of winning big, or of recouping their losses.
so many people are trapped in this, in Satan's web. it's so incredibly sad. all these people placing their hopes in luck, in winning big, some perhaps placing their last few dollars, in hopes of turning their luck and making enough to feed their family. these people have been lied to, been made to believe that this can save them. and this turns into an addiction. their "winning streak" begins and they think that they're gonna turn into millionaires overnight by striking the jackpot.
i look around, and all i see is greed.
and my heart can't help but to break for them. because i know that there is more to life. because i know that the only Hope that will never let us down is Christ, and in Him alone, i place my trust. He is the one i look to.
as i walked through the casino, i prayed. prayed for their eyes to be opened. prayed for them to come to know the Saviour who holds me in His arms.