Rules?
Rules are for suckers, right?
No one follows rules anymore.
Except for one really important instance.
Know what it is?
You’re probably wrong.
Read on to find out.
It’s video games!
Think about it.
Speed limits? Who follows them, other than Corolla drivers? No one. Unless you’re playing a video game. If you’re playing a driving game – the car only goes as fast as it goes. Even if you want to go faster – you can’t. And you’re OK with it. Because those are the rules.
Let’s say it’s a sports game. In real life – sportsmanship is pretty much gone. Anything goes when it comes to getting a penalty called. “Diving” is what it’s known as. Everyone complains about it. But everyone does it. It’s not bad sportsmanship any more – it’s not getting an edge. With people as judges and referees, you can get away with things. So you try. And even have the nerve to complain when you don’t get the call you wanted – even though you know you don’t deserve to get it in the first place! But with computers – that doesn’t happen. And you’re OK with it. Because those are the rules.
Maybe it’s a card game – like solitaire. With a real deck of cards, you can cheat. Pull a card out of order. Stick some cards at the top of a pile instead of at the bottom. And then get excited when the games comes out. Because you “won”! But with a computer game – you can’t do that, because the computer won’t let you. And you’re OK with it. Because those are the rules.
Same with bowling. Foot fault in real life? No problem. Ignore it. But do it on a computer game – you’re busted. And you’re OK with it. Because those are the rules.
Am I making the point yet?
In real life – it’s not like we don’t know the rules. We most certainly do. But somewhere along the line – it’s become not only acceptable to break the rules – it’s more and more becoming expected. It’s part of the game now. Being good at breaking the rules is a skill that’s in high demand.
But in a computer game – we know we can’t get away with this. Because the computer knows the rules – and “sees” everything. But we still play the game. And we’re OK with it. Because we know that’s how it works.
But – what about the “game” of life? No – not the board game called Life. I mean real life.
You know – the life we get when we’re born. The rules that have been given to us by the One who created us. Yeah – that One – God. And those rules – the Bible. For some reason – we’re not OK with that.
Just like the computer – God sees everything. And He knows the rules. He should – He wrote them. But we’re not OK with that.
Somehow we’ve tricked ourselves into believing that those rules don’t apply. That since we don’t pay an instant price – then He must not really be seeing everything. That therefore, we really can get away with things. That we can even make our own rules.
The ultimate example, I guess, would be the fantasy games – like fighting against evil people – against zombies – against aliens – against anything or anyone that’s considered evil. Those games are so popular. And they have rules. And the players follow the rules. And they’re OK with the rules. Because that’s how computer games work.
But – it’s still all fantasy. It’s not real.
Life, on the other hand, is very real. And it’s a battle against a very real opponent – the Evil One himself – Satan and his band of fallen angels. It’s the ultimate – real life or real death – contest. It has rules – just like the video games. And the rules are enforced – just like the video games. But we’re not OK with that.
Why not?
It can’t be the fact that we’re not allowed to break the rules. Because we’re OK with rules in video games, which can’t be broken.
We’ll play for a fantasy victory on a computer. But we won’t play for our very lives when it comes to God / Jesus?
We’ll play the fantasy video game as if our lives depended on it. But when it comes to real good and evil, we’ll pretend no such thing exists?
Could it be that we’re afraid of really truly living?
Image from clarionenterprises.com