In our home growing up we had games. Board games of every kind. From Monopoly to Stratego, Chinese Checkers to actual checkers. We even had a chess set made from stone that kids didn’t touch. Our life as kids revolved around games. We played them, we enjoyed them and they secretly taught us a few things about the life we were beginning to live.
The games we played taught us lessons that if applied could last a lifetime and show us how to maybe end up winners when all is said and done. It simply depends on whether you take the lessons to heart. I know when we were just kids we weren’t thinking about lessons, just fun. I truly think that is when we learn best, when it is fun and an adventure.
In these games we played and play are lessons that you can discover. The first and most pleasing lesson is to compete. After all games have a goal in mind. While you play you are laughing and seeking to destroy your opposition at the same time. I know; probably not the first lesson you would think a pastor would bring up. My hope is that by the end of this series you figure out I’m not an ordinary pastor. Oh well, back to the competing lesson. We are taught to think ahead and try to outwit or maneuver our opponents. We learn to think two or three steps ahead so that we get to the finish line first.
Competition if done correctly honors God. After all, didn’t God tell Adam “to put the world under his authority”? You don’t do that with the ‘everyone gets a ribbon’ thinking. It is healthy to push ourselves to improve and get better. Of course this should be done within the context of the rules of the game. Competition that honors your opponent and played graciously is definitely what God and the Parker Brothers had in mind when they began marketing their games years ago.
In competition we are taught to win and hopefully we win graciously. Games are played and then end. Someone wins, someone loses. When we were kids we would hoot and holler when we won. A victory dance was often in order and enjoyed until our hearts were full. We would rub it in when we won the game. The loser was made to endure the humiliation and scoffing until it was almost unbearable. The only problem with that approach is that you eventually are the dance not the dancer. Every victory should have been tempered with the realization that another game would soon be starting. It never was. Nothing could match the joy of winning. The opportunity to know that you had done it and crushed your opponents sent your heart racing. In the same regard every defeat should not cause the depths of despair either. We should always remember that no game is final. There will be a chance to play again. Though your opponent dances now he might be the one crying next.
We were taught and encouraged to not truly show and vent how much we hated to lose. But, with every victory dance we had to endure thoughts come to mind like: “Just how much damage could I inflict with this game board?” “Could I really use the knife from the Clue game to cause some damage?” We had to tell them good game even though we suspected some form of cheating was the truth behind our loss. We were simply taught that each new day and new game brought the fresh opportunity to win again. That I may not have won this time, but I would eventually win if I kept playing.
That being said though did not make the victory any less sweet nor the defeat any less sour. It just simply makes the game more fun and enchanting. Competing is what we were made to do in life. Some people are naturals and others of us have had to learn and practice to get good at games. Whichever one of those describes you realize that as long as you’ve got a heart beat that you will want to win.
It is my hope that as we remember these games from our childhood that we can learn some lessons for our lives. We will rummage through the game closet hopefully we not only remember some of the fun we had, but will learn some lessons to help us in the future.