{"id":5764,"date":"2014-12-10T07:09:56","date_gmt":"2014-12-10T07:09:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/?p=5764"},"modified":"2016-01-07T10:05:11","modified_gmt":"2016-01-07T10:05:11","slug":"the-pressure-to-provide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/friends-of-cvm\/the-pressure-to-provide\/","title":{"rendered":"The pressure to provide"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I can call upon my own experiences when I say, that especially around the Christmas period the temptation to gamble was at its greatest.<br \/>\nThere can be many different contributing factors to this but I will briefly touch on one.<br \/>\n\u201cThe expectation and pressure to provide\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For some this can be the catalyst that plunges them into desperate measures.<br \/>\nThis is where gambling can seem to be an attractive option to ease the financial burden and a time when the gambling industry are quick to take advantage of all the tools available to them, through advertising on T.V., mobile devices, and computing technology. Unfortunately those who have very little can be enticed as they see this as a way out, a way to provide for the demands put on them.<br \/>\nOf course gambling is not a way out, but it often lures people into a false believe that it will be the answer, in reality, it more often leads to, family breakdown, debt, poverty, mental illness, crime and attempted suicide.<\/p>\n<p>As Christians we can make a difference, in fact we are called to do so. We are the salt of the earth and a light shining brightly.<br \/>\nLook out for your fellow Man, if you have suspicion that someone is having problems with gambling, then visit the<strong> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.gamserve.org.uk\/\">Gameserve website<\/a><\/strong> and click on \u201c<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gamserve.org.uk\/?page_id=217\">Need Support link<\/a><\/strong>\u201d which will lead you to organisations that can give you expert advice.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Here are two interesting facts<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>In the UK in 2005 The Gambling Act classified gambling as a \u201cLegitimate Entertainment Activity\u201d<\/li>\n<li>In 2013 for the first time, the U.S. Diagnostic and Statistical manual of mental disorders recognised gambling as an Addiction, putting it on par with Drugs and Alcohol.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>I would like to acknowledge publicly the support that CVM have given to me personally and Gamserve, it has been very much appreciated.<\/p>\n<p>I wish you all a Happy Christmas<br \/>\nIan Bartlett, Gamserve<\/p>\n<div class=\"linkwithin_hook\" id=\"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/friends-of-cvm\/the-pressure-to-provide\/\"><\/div><script>\n<!-- \/\/LinkWithinCodeStart\nvar linkwithin_site_id = 897245;\nvar linkwithin_div_class = \"linkwithin_hook\";\n\/\/LinkWithinCodeEnd -->\n<\/script>\n<script src=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/widget.js\"><\/script>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/\"><img src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.linkwithin.com\/pixel.png?w=750\" alt=\"Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...\" style=\"border: 0\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I can call upon my own experiences when I say, that especially around the Christmas period the temptation to gamble was at its greatest. There can be many different contributing factors to this but I will briefly touch on one. \u201cThe expectation and pressure to provide\u201d For some this can be the catalyst that plunges [&hellip;]<\/p>\n<script>\n<!-- \/\/LinkWithinCodeStart\nvar linkwithin_site_id = 897245;\nvar linkwithin_div_class = \"linkwithin_hook\";\n\/\/LinkWithinCodeEnd -->\n<\/script>\n<script src=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/widget.js\"><\/script>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/\"><img src=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/pixel.png\" alt=\"Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...\" style=\"border: 0\" \/><\/a>","protected":false},"author":58,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7PoLK-1uY","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":7727,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/friends-of-cvm\/a-bit-of-fun\/","url_meta":{"origin":5764,"position":0},"title":"A Bit of Fun?","date":"28 September 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"The gambling industry are extremely adept in enticing men to participate in what they claim is only a bit fun. My personal experience causes my opinion to differ but for one moment cast aside my 40 year experience as a prolific gambler. Let's look at the evidence: \u201cWhen the Fun\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Friends of CVM&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/gambling.png?fit=565%2C350&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7032,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/friends-of-cvm\/gambling-can-be-dangerous\/","url_meta":{"origin":5764,"position":1},"title":"Gambling can be dangerous","date":"8 June 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"A friend revealed to me recently, that although she was a primary school teacher she too had been caught up in gambling. It seemed to her that a trip to the bingo offered a night out to enjoy herself with her friends but unfortunately as time passed those feelings passed\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Friends of CVM&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/gamserve_logo.jpg?fit=1200%2C344&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3875,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/thoughts-from-the-cvm-team\/gambling\/","url_meta":{"origin":5764,"position":2},"title":"Gambling","date":"19 March 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Have you ever noticed how things creep up on you? (Like Old age or Christmas). A while ago I became aware of all the gambling ads on the TV...Where did they come from?! I have since been in touch with a guy called Ian who was addicted to gambling and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Team CVM&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/team-CVM-blog-640x360.jpg?fit=640%2C360&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5418,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/friends-of-cvm\/enough-is-enough\/","url_meta":{"origin":5764,"position":3},"title":"Enough is enough","date":"9 July 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"In 2005 the Government in the UK opened the door to gambling becoming \"an acceptable leisure activity\". I was a gambler for 40 years and believe me when I say that when you are in it, you don't see the potential harm caused to some vulnerable people until you step\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Friends of CVM&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5201,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/friends-of-cvm\/who-me-a-gambler\/","url_meta":{"origin":5764,"position":4},"title":"\u2018Who me, a gambler?","date":"7 May 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Following on from his previous blog, Ian Bartlett unpacks his journey to show how God has moved powerfully in his life in relation to the hold gambling had on him. I gave my life to Jesus on 31st March 2010 and I was baptised on May 30th the same year.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Friends of CVM&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/friends-blog-640x360.jpg?fit=640%2C360&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5139,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/friends-of-cvm\/gambling-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":5764,"position":5},"title":"Gambling","date":"16 April 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Ian Bartlett kicks off his first blog on the theme of gambling and shares from his experiences about the danger it can be to us. Growing up I never went to church and my parents were not Christians, My fathers church was the pub and the Bookmakers and like father\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Friends of CVM&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5764"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/58"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5764"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5764\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6696,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5764\/revisions\/6696"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5764"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5764"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5764"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}