Are You Playing Games?

An interesting question, don’t you think? Not too long ago I received a voicemail from a man who claimed to be a Christian and who thought he was living in a way pleasing to God. He was a leader in his church. The voicemail began with the phrase (paraphrasing), “It appears that you’re playing games with me.” I knew it had to be a lie because the only games I was playing at the time were Solitaire and FreeCell on my computer. The message went on with threats and more nonsense. I have it stored in my media archives right now ready to make available to the public sometime.

A few weeks ago I was playing a game with some friends (don’t panic! Just a board game) and got to thinking about that message. How a person who obviously had no idea what he was talking about would start making accusations and threats with no facts, no evidence, no anything. To me, it showed a lack of spiritual maturity that needed to be worked on in his life. As I began to think more about that, I got to thinking about all of the people who call themselves Christians but in fact, do not live as a Christian should.

Which brings me back to the title question, Are you playing games? A more detailed question would be, Are you playing games with God?

You see, in today’s society, a church-going born-again Christian can get away with a lot. You can use profane language, you can smoke (even on a church campus), you can make threats toward people, you can even say you’re a Christian but go the opposite direction on your morals and values as made popular today. As you do these things (known as sins), you use excuses to yourself that make what you’re doing against God and others just fine.

But God knows everything and He won’t let you get away with anything. Do you remember Psalm 139? It’s one of the best chapters in the Bible revealing how intimate God knows you and me. For a Christian who follows God’s Word, it’s one of the greatest comforts we’re given. To one who is adapting God’s Word to their sinful actions, it’s a nightmare. Part of the chapter reads, “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?” Guess what, no where! The Bible here even says that God knows what we’re going to say before we even say it! This means that God knows when you’re playing games with Him before you even do it.

The lesson here is simple. Stop playing games in life. Live how the Bible says to live. Love how the Bible says to love. David (Old Testament) several times in His life played games with God, sinned, and regretted it. However, God knew that David was seeking Him and He heard David repent and admit his failings and sins toward God and man. Because of this, God even called David a man after His own heart.

Isn’t that what we should be striving for? A person after God’s own heart? Start today. Forget the talking the talk – it’s cheap. Begin walking the walk, weekly, daily, every minute whether awake or asleep.

When you begin doing this, your guilt will be erased, the excuses you make trying to fit the Bible into your thinking will melt away, and one day when you see Jesus face to face, you’ll hear the words we all long to hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

In His Grip!