My five-year-old granddaughter has come up with her own surefire formula for success: If you want to win every time, play games you make up yourself.
I stopped by to visit my grandkids recently and Edda couldn’t wait to show me a new game she’d invented. She proudly brought out the game board and cards she’d created and I quickly discovered that her game, Fruit Land, was somewhat similar … okay, exactly like … the classic game Candy Land, with one major difference: the rules for Fruit Land are stored only in the head of my granddaughter and can change at any moment.
How convenient for her.
Edda decided the best way to avoid the unpleasantness of losing is to play a game where she can make up the rules as she goes. Hence, Fruit Land, where she is queen of the board.
My assigned game piece was a plastic rhinoceros and even though I have a competitive streak a mile wide, I was happy to scoot my rhino around the board according to Edda’s whims. If I landed on a “go back” square, Edda told me how far to go back and I cheerfully complied. But when Edda landed on one of those unfortunate spaces, she simply pulled a new rule out of her head and forged ahead.
Edda did graciously allow me to almost win once or twice. Almost, but not quite. Her consolation speeches after my losses were quite eloquent, if a bit insincere.
If you’re feeling disturbed about this, relax. I promise I’m not aiding and abetting a future sociopath. I’ve had plenty of conversations with Edda about playing fairly and losing gracefully, as have her parents. But on this day, I didn’t want to pour cold water all over her creativity. I was enjoying her five-year-oldness.
I have to say, though, it’s not so enjoyable when adults act the same way, thinking all of life is game in which they are entitled to make and change the rules. And it seems that happens a lot these days.
The brouhaha over illegal immigrants in our country seems like a timely example of this. We have laws on the books dictating what should happen to people who cross our borders illegally. So why all the controversy?
Because some politicians apparently think their personal opinions—their “rules”—should supersede those laws.
But even more disturbing is the way some people thumb their noses at God, denying and defying His sovereign, wise, and loving authority.
“Limiting marriage to a union between one man and one woman is so narrow and outdated.”
“We’re not hurting anyone else, so what’s wrong with sex outside of marriage?”
“No one will ever miss this stuff I’m taking from work. Besides, they don’t pay me enough.”
“Everybody lies. That’s just expected in politics. The end justifies the means.”
“There are many paths to God. As long as you’re sincere, it doesn’t matter what religion you follow.”
Or, perhaps the latest and possibly most absurd example: “We don’t recognize gender in our classrooms. We call everyone ‘purple penguins.’” (I’m not making this up. Google it.)
Yes, we can live by rules we make up, but not without experiencing some tragic temporal and eternal consequences. To their joy or horror, everyone eventually realizes this: It’s God’s game and only those who play by His rules win.
“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness …” – Isaiah 5:20
“There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” – Proverbs 14:12
“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.’”– John 14:6