I had not realized it was Mid-Autumn Festival until I went inside a bank and saw a depositor win a power bank for rolling in the numbers in the photo. It was the second prize.

In the Chinese culture, the festival is not only celebrated with mooncake but a dice game with prizes that can be as grand as a car or as simple as a P1000 gift certificate. Tsinoys play this within the confines of churches as well.

When I was a new believer, I went home telling my parents who were not of the same faith, how I played the dice game in church and did not win anything. They wondered why people in church were engaged in gambling. Since then, I never participated.

One Tsinoy Christian friend found my decision offensive. He said it was harmless fun. I said it might be fun but it does harm to one's testimony. Remember, it was my non-Christian parents who pointed it out to me.

He then likened it to my participating in raffle games where we are given stubs for a minimum purchase at a supermarket. I said it was different because it was given to me in exchange for doing business with them.

He then said business is also like gambling. I argued that the wins of making a good business investment benefit my family, staff, and other people connected to it. Gambling benefits the bangkero; losing is to be expected more than winning but it's 50-50 with business investments.

My friend, now all riled up, said it's only time he can be with his relatives. Well, he can play the dice game for all I care but for the sake of non-believers, maybe we can conduct it at a different venue?