Eyes roll, bodies shift, and long sighs ending with snickers accompany my suggestion of a friendly game after dinner. I’m a board game junkie. I’ll play anything, anytime, anywhere. But lately I’ve been really struggling with my competitive reputation. Do I deserve the reputation of Killa’?* Yes. Yes, I do. But I’ve been feeling condemned about it by my friends and family… until I read 1 Timothy 6:12 again, Fight the good fight of faith.
There is nothing worse than seeing an apathetic boxer enter the ring before a fight. There is nothing worse than seeing a dejected basketball team in the last few minutes of a game. There’s nothing worse than people believing, It’s just a game! No, people, IT’S NOT JUST A GAME.
If I run a mile, I run to win. If I study for an exam, I study for an A. If I play Monopoly, I play with the aspirations of building multiple hotels and charging you rent every time you land on my Boardwalk estate. I don’t understand when people laugh when I repossess their property to pay rent. Hello?! You just became homeless, fool! But that’s the way many Christians play the game of Life.
There’s nothing worse than an apathetic Christian’s approach their devotional time. There’s nothing worse than a dejected Christian professing to have joy. There’s nothing worse than Christians believing this is nothing more than a game. No, people, THIS IS NOT JUST A GAME! If you are called to suffer, suffer well to the glory of God. If you’re successful, be successful unto the glory of God. If you’re alone, utilize this time unto the glory of God. If you’re competitive and your friends think you take board games too seriously, tell them you play to win, you’re fighting the good fight, and you expect the rent on Park Place to be paid in full.
*In a heated Scrabble game with a friend, I busted out a Latin word for a rockin’ 36 points and gloated for the next hour. Father, forgive my sins.
*In a heated game of Pit, I elbowed my brother-in-law in a reach-to-the-finish dash for the stock pile. Father, forgive my sins.
*In a heated card game of speed [on my first youth event], I screamed at a youth and accused her of cheating. Father, forgive my sins.
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