THE ULTIMATE BOARD GAME

Go To Jail--Jamestown, NC

Sometimes, life seems like the ultimate board game. However, I do know that I wouldn't like the alternative of never having my soul created and I view death as the last great earthly adventure as we pass through "the thin veil" to the spiritual plane we coexist with all of our lives. The negatives we experience in life are generally offset by many positive experiences as well--part of the balance in the universe. The possibiities in our DNA to create unique human beings far exceeds the actual number that have been created, including you and me. But, have you ever wondered if an all powerful God didn’t actually create all this for his amusement--like a colossal board game? If we play by all the rules we are rewarded and if not, well there’s Hell to pay. There has to be some subliminal wiring in our brains that attracts us to board games like Monopoly. The game has a specific set of rules to play by and rewards us for following the rules and being the best competitor who outwits the other opponents in the game. If you don’t fully understand all the rules and how to manage them to your best advantage, you lose. Rolling the dice adds to the random chance occurrences as life unfolds, sometimes sending us directly to jail. If we pass “Go”, we DO NOT collect a reward. The basic tenants of the game are pure self-interest and absolute materialism. Taking your fellow players money and possessions to obtain a monopoly wins the game! He who finishes with the most toys wins! We do our best to follow all the rules because we do not want to be out of the game. Our motivation in life can also be based on legalism, authority, guilt and the avoidance of bad consequences.
Jesus taught that the best template for life is to love God and to love others. I think he wants us to understand that we were created along with everything else and we in fact are not our own master of the house. If we order our life on that basic premise, we will naturally live a life of respect for others and generally avoid all those dead end streets that lead to the destruction of a quality of life that embodies the “kingdom of heaven” he repeatedly tells us that we can achieve in the here and now. Life can be very “dicey”. Temporal happiness is achieved through life circumstances, while ultimate joy is achieved by the continuous presence of God in our life. It’s tough to go it alone. The creator of this universe and you and me, doesn’t want us to do that. He created our souls not for His amusement, although there must be times when we certainly do amuse Him, but to be part of his spiritual family. However, if that’s a problem, He's given us the free will to choose. Ultimately, when life is on the line, it’s good to be able to place your trust in Him to be with you in that spiritual plane that our basic senses were not wired to perceive, but our hearts and minds are equipped to understand with faith.