The Game of Life: Keeping Score Presented at Damascus Road Tucson on 1/17/16 (​
www.DamascusRoadTucson.com​
) Scripture Used: Philippians 2:6­11, Matthew 25:23, ​
Matthew 22:37­40; Luke 12:16­21; ​
1 Samuel 18:7b The crime was committed in the Billiards Room. Mr. Peabody had been viciously murdered by the nefarious Colonel Mustard with the Revolver (because of course a Colonel would use a revolver). And I had solved the murder. Not my parents who taught me to play games in the first place. Not my brother Brad who has an unusual gift for understanding game strategy in mere moments and executing that strategy to perfection. No I, Ryan Miller, was the Master Detective. And victory was sweet. Ironically, I was also playing as Colonel Mustard due to my deep love of the vinegary, yellow condiment that elevates every hot dog it covers to perfection. Normally I would have chosen the red piece since red is my favorite color but there was no way I was going to play Clue as Miss Scarlet. Come on. But the truth is I was unconcerned for the life in prison my character, Colonel Mustard, was facing because no matter what happened next in that imaginary world, in the real world I was the champion! And it was a wonderful feeling. My family loves playing games. While we occasionally played a traditional board game growing up our favorite games involved cards. It started with Uno. I loved dropping the Draw 2 cards and stategically using my wilds to change the chosen color to thwart my family and move me one inch closer to victory. But man getting skipped right before I could play the last card or seeing that Reverse card hit the table shortly after I boldly and proudly declared Uno was rough. Many a family conflict started at the Uno table. From Uno we moved up to Hearts. There is still a great joy being able to drop the queen of spades on an unsuspecting victim or even better, the current leader. To this day my father plays hearts on his computer every night before he goes to bed. But Hearts was too simple for us. We upgraded to the bain of every spelling bee champion: ​
Pinochle​
. It was my great grandmother Ruby who taught us to play this complex game in her trailer in Montrose, Colorado. I can’t imagine we we older than 10 and 12. Pinochle is a game with it’s own language: you hoped for a round of kings or aces for your meld ­ or even a pinochle which consisted of the Queen of Spades and Jack of Diamonds or better yet a double pinochle. Confused yet? Now pinochle was a partner game and after we returned home we would play as a family of four. Unfortunately for me as the eldest child this meant I got paired with my mother and Brad got to play with my Dad. At the time I’m sure it seemed like the fairest way to go assuming that I was a better player than my brother balancing out the advantage my father had over my mother. While it’s possible this was true at some point, I mostly remember Brad and my Dad beating my mom and me over and over again. They are both more focused and competitive than I was though you couldn’t tell based on my whining and complaining after not only a loss but also before the game when I was paired with my mom again. I’m sure she appreciated my uplifting words before we started... Does your family enjoy playing games? Is there a go to game when you visit? For us it’s not a family get together without a card game. My wife, Megan’s family is different. They don’t really play cards. They play more imaginative games like reverse charades or Hoopla. The games are relational and some of the time not competitive but cooperative, with everyone playing on the same team. What’s that about? I need to feel the rush of victory. None of this winning and losing together nonsense or the pride of beating the game itself. Ridiculous! There’s something about games that our culture loves. Right now many people’s attention is captured by the football playoffs, especially if your team is still playing, and these playoffs will soon culminate in the Super Bowl. And we will join all of America in having a sweet Super Bowl party ­ wings from Wings Over Broadway, a competition that could win you an Amazon gift card and the game on multiple screens. And if you don’t care about any of that it’ll be a fun time with your friends and good food. Bring someone new and come. From professional sports to the playground from the computer or playstation or xbox to the board game spread out in the living room, games are pervasive in our culture. What is it that so captures our imagination? Is it the testing of ourselves against others? Determining our strengths and seeing where we rate in relationship with others? Is it the joy of the win, the momentary feeling of victory that fades all too quickly? For a lot of people it’s the winning. Do you know anyone who doesn’t enjoy the game if they don’t win? Is that you? I know I have a certain disdain for soccer because I played football but honestly I don’t like to run and my eye foot coordination is pretty sad. I don’t really want to play because I’m just not that good at it. My chances of winning are incredibly small. I believe there is something about games that connects at a deeper level. In many ways games mirror life and they are a metaphor for our experience. Every game, like life, is moving towards a goal. There is an object to accomplish, certain rules to follow and we all develop strategies to make sure that we play the game well. We each have a turn to take and without the roll of the dice, without a little risk, there isn’t much reward. An anonymous wise man once said “life is a game” and in many key ways it’s true. Why does this matter? Because there’s a universal truth in a game that is also true in life: ​
The game always ends​
­ the pieces will go back in the box ­ the final buzzer will sound. And when the game ends, when our life is over, where will we be on the scoreboard? Will we have won the game? Will we have invested our life in what matters most? Will Jesus say to us,​
“Well done, good and faithful servant...enter into the joy of your master?”​
​
Matthew 25:23 ​
No matter what our role or position, life, like a game will end. Like the Ancient Italian proverb tells us: ​
“Pawn and king alike, they all go back in the bag.” This is the reality we are exploring together the next four weeks here on Sunday and on Wednesdays at dR:U. How can we learn to live life well in light of the fact that it will end, much like the games we play for fun? If life is like a game we’re going to answer one very important question today: ​
How do we keep score in this game of life?​
What does Jesus have to say about our scorekeeping methods? And maybe more importantly: how does he tell us to keep score? If we choose the wrong things to tally we’re in danger of living a life that misses the point ­ that is less than all God made it to be. And it’s not just missing the fullness of what Jesus says is available to all of his followers, it’s the danger that we aren’t following Jesus at all. That we haven’t accepted his invitation to learn how to live the life that is truly life from Him, and are instead pursuing a life centered on issues of no importance that endanger our souls. How we keep score, what we track, what makes a win to us is of vital importance. How are you keeping score? Score keeping starts at an early age. How quickly did you learn to read? Were you placed in the advanced math group? Music recitals, sporting events, what schools you attend. Some of this was about us and some of it frankly was about our parents and their score keeping against other parents. As we got older winning may be getting good grades, being first string on the team, landing the lead role in the musical, being elected class president, or voted homecoming queen. After graduation is becomes landing the right job, winning at work, getting promoted, earning enough money to feel comfortable and secure. If I pass someone on the ladder of success I feel happiness, if someone passes me, especially someone younger, I feel like a failure, I feel pain. Eventually it becomes our kids successes and not just our own. As we get older it’s our grandkids and the chase for long term financial security, a well­planned retirement, and a nice senior living situation where drugs and procedures help us accept the illusion that we are immortal. As we rack up our life points, author John Ortberg tells us, we always hear an inner voice whispering: ​
“​
Is it enough? Did I do good? ​
And sometimes if I’m quiet: ​
Does it mean anything?​
” ­ John Ortberg How are you keeping score? Who here has played ​
Monopoly​
before? Go directly to jail, do not pass go, do not collect $200 ­ always a tough space to land on or card to draw. What’s the goal of monopoly? It’s all about accumulation. Spend money, buy property, build houses and hotels to produce more money to buy more property, mortgage those properties to buy more to make more money until you have conquered all your competitors, sent them to the poor house, taken over their properties and made them your own and become the Donald Trump of your game. In Monopoly how you keep score is very clear: it’s all about your net worth, it’s accumulation, it’s your money and possessions that equal victory. This is how many people keep score in life. The problem is, more will never be enough. Accumulation becomes an addiction that can never be satisfied. No one is declared the victor, our game only ends at the grave and you can’t take it with you. Long before A Christmas Carol was written or any of it’s numerous movie adaptations came out reminding us of this truth Jesus told the story in this way: 16 “A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. 17 He said to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.’ 18 Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. 19 And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”’ 20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’ Luke 12:16­20 Have you known anyone like this? Have you known anyone who devoted their lives to accumulating money or possessions or success at the expense of their families and ended their lives alone? Or known someone who pursued this way of keeping score until finally realizing that they’d sacrificed the things that truly mattered at the altar of success and security and accumulation and then tried to make a change late it the game? It’s very hard. Maybe none of us are quite at this point. Yet. But if some of us aren't careful it’s not to hard to get there. Are we living foolish lives? Are we accumulating stuff at the expense of our souls? How are you keeping score? Maybe for you it’s not money or possessions. Maybe you primarily keep score in life in relation to other people. Maybe it’s comparison, competition or climbing the ladder that gives you an idea of what your score really is. Or at least who you’re ahead of and who’s trailing behind. Have you ever played ​
Apples to Apples​
? Apples to Apples is a game of comparisons. Everyone is given a few cards that have phrases on them and based on the topic that one of the people playing selects, you have to choose a card that is similar to the topic. It’s comparing apples to apples. The key to victory in this game is knowing the other players and designing your answers to fit their likes and dislikes. You may not even have a response that fits the topic as long as the player selects your card you receive a point. My brother hates this game because it’s totally arbitrary ­ there’s no hard and fast way to win or score points...it’s totally subjective. And each turn you learn that you were either the best player or not. It’s a constant game of comparisons. Some of us keep score in life this way. We feel good about ourselves when we can think of someone that we’re morally superior to. We feel bad when we think of those people who have just a little more than we do. And our comparisons are incredibly self­serving. We rarely compare ourselves to people with greater integrity than us, we justify our actions by assuring ourselves that we’re better than many others. No matter how much we have there’s always someone who has more and instead of considering those with less and seeking to help, we focus on our lack and the desire to have just a little more. To keep up with the Joneses. King Saul was the most powerful man in the nation of Israel but comparison killed him. He returned from battle and heard a song in the streets: “​
Saul has slain his thousands and David has slain his tens of thousands.” 1 Samuel 18:7b ​
From that day onward instead of being content with who he was he envied David and even looked for opportunities to kill him. The comparison that drove Saul to kill was also killing him in a far more insidious way. How are you keeping score? Maybe it’s not exactly comparison maybe it’s straight up competition. Not long ago Megan and I bought a used copy of an updated version of Clue for the digital age called ​
Clue FX​
. This version has a butler that talks to you and characters that move around a board and trigger conversations. It is generally similar to normal Clue in that you’re solving a murder but plays out a bit differently. Since the maximum number of players is 4, a two person game between me and Megan wasn’t out of the question. Now Megan is a pretty astute Clue player and has a developed system that I can’t hope to compete with. But in Clue FX I lucked out...or I mean played an incredibly skilled game and just edged her out. I had quite the celebration that I’m not convinced my “non­competitive” spouse has quite forgiven me for. Now I don’t think that competition is always bad, it can cause us to push ourselves and pursue excellence in many fields. We can develop persistence and perseverance and work hard to achieve a goal in the future despite the present pain. But, if we’re not careful the drive to be #1 can infect our souls and jealousy begins to mark our relationships. We may even consider cheating to make sure we come out ahead and “winner” and “loser” begin to carry the weight of our entire value as a human being. Cain felt like he was in competition with his brother Abel to please God after he realized that Abel’s heartfelt sacrifice of grain was accepted by God but his own half­hearted sacrifice of the worst of his flocks were rejected. Instead of pursuing a well­ordered heart that was full of gratitude and generosity, he killed his brother. He was number one then. While competition doesn’t always mark our souls as deeply as it did for Cain, it can endanger us greatly. How are you keeping score? When I was young I played a simple game called ​
Chutes and Ladders​
. It was this incredible illustration of life. Even as we try to climb higher and higher, there’s almost always a chute, ready for us to slip right back down to where we were before. In our jobs in our school work we’re climbing the ladder of success, power and prestige. And our eyes are always fixed above. We don’t notice those below us who we may have stepped over to get to where we are. We are always trying to move up, up and away. With each advancement we’re pleased, but it doesn’t last long. We always have to go further up. The trouble with keeping score by climbing the ladder is that Jesus life and his invitation to us isn’t a climb upward but a climb down into servanthood. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Philippians 2:6­8 Jesus life wasn’t a series of promotions it was a string of demotions. All he got were chutes. There were no ladders in his game. When we climb the ladder we move right past Jesus because he is going down. Comparison, Competition and Climbing the Ladder carry us far away from the Savior who laid down his life for us and calls us to do the same thing for others. Ortberg warns us: ​
“There are always more rungs to climb, more money to be made, more deals to pull off. And the danger is that we forget to ask what really matters. We race around the board with shallow relationships, frenzied schedules, preoccupied souls. Being smart or strong does not protect us from this fate. In some ways it makes the game more dangerous, for the temporary rewards you get from playing can lull you into pretending that the game will never end.” John Ortberg But the game does end. Will we end up giving our lives to foolish and unfulfilling things? What is the right object? What should we be centering our life on? Jesus tells us the answer at the very end of the story of the Rich Landowner we read early. Remember what he said? 20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’ But then Jesus went on with this: 21 “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.” Luke 12:20­21 Jesus parable, or story with a spiritual point, is quick and clear. There is one thing that matters above all others, and it’s not money. It’s not comparison or competition or climbing the ladder. It’s not accumulation for material things. It’s having a rich relationship with God. How is your relationship with God? Is it rich? I’ll be honest, being rich towards God can sound really vague and I’m not sure how I measure up there. Is there more clarity? What’s the scorecard in being rich towards God? Jesus tells us this as well. When Jesus was asked what the most important commandment was, ​
37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the ​
LORD​
your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:37­40 How do we keep score? It’s through Love of God and Love of Others. When we are centered on this and growing in love we can be confident that we are scoring the points that really matter. If we want to win in the game of life we must arrange our lives around what matters most, we must strategically focus on what matters eternally and not let anything interfere with it. Loving God and Loving People. How do we know we’re doing this? Jesus shows us this as well. At the end of his string of demotions we read earlier from God of the universe to death on a cross for us the strangest thing happens: “​
Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:9­11 ​
What an unusual scoring system. Incredible love seen in service and sacrifice is what is valued above all else. Love of God and Love of people. They’re the only scores that matter. If we want to hear “well done” from our heavenly Father we need to arrange our lives so that we make sure we prioritize what really matters. How’s your serve? How are you demontrating your love of God and others with your actions? How are you keeping score? Whether it’s runs, baskets, points, tokens or play money, every game has a way of keeping score. In games what matters is getting the highest score so that victory is achieved. In the game of life we keep score too, just in different ways. For some of us it’s our stuff. Money or possessions show that we are winning the game. For others it’s about success in relation to other people. Are we better or worse than someone else? Are we winning the invisible competition? Are we climbing the ladder? In the Middle Ages reading wasn’t extremely common. The educated elite would read while the masses worked and the magic of reading was for the select few. Interestingly, one of the most read documents at the time compared life to the game of chess. The unknown author wrote this:​
“Wherefore play the game of life warily, for your opponent is full of subtlety, and take abundant thought over your moves for the stake is your soul.” What really matters eternally is our love of God and love of others ­ nothing else is worth tracking and nothing else indicates a life well lived. It is our love that will echo into eternity and God’s love expressed through our love that changes us, each other, and our world. Let’s measure our success in our faithfulness in loving God and others and investing in eternal things. Then we will be rich towards God no matter what other riches or success we experience and we can put the game back in the box knowing that we’ve won a prize that can never be taken from us: eternal life through Jesus in the eternal love of our Father who says to us “​
well done good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your master.” Let’s pray