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The
question arose - how do Christians approach game design? The answer is more
interesting and more soul-searching than one might think.
From
birth to death most ‘Western’ people are brought up in a world which
practises competition. By Western we mean European, American, and British
Commonwealth. This ‘cultural norm’ is backed up in the Western world by the
dogma of Evolution, which holds the basic tenet that in order for any organism
to survive, the strongest and "as Darwin (the figurehead of Evolution) put
it, the "fittest" would be the logical winners. (We will not depart at
this point to discuss the many plants and animals which contradict this teaching
of Darwin’s) In other parts of the world this tenet is supported by the fact
that, in human affairs, the strongest, and best fighters have usually prevailed
over the weaker. Economically, the strongest economy wins over the weaker too,
and the aim of many people is to work their way to the ‘top of the ladder’,
where managerial success is seen as the greatest position to be in life.
But
the whole idea of competition, as an accepted, and therefore correct philosophy
of life, ought to be questioned by Christians, because there is no support for
competitiveness in the New Testament, and, arguably, in the Old. Instead, the
teaching is always one of co-operation, helpfulness, condescension and sympathy.
In
the Law of God, Israelites were urged to consider orphans and widows ("You
shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child" Exodus 22:22) The reason
being that "For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a
great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regards not persons, nor takes
reward" Deuteronomy 10:17 - God has no special regard for people of higher
or lower rank in life, nor does he take bribes.
All
through the Old and New Testament God requires that people show regard for those
less able or fortunate. Tithes were reserved for the poor, and farmers were
instructed to leave food in their fields for others to gather. It was to the
weak, the poor and the helpless that Jesus came.
So
we search in vain for Biblical endorsement for competitive sports, competitive
business, and competitive behaviour in any other realm of human behaviour.
Before
we go further with this, let us look briefly at what can happen when a person is
stronger, richer, faster, cleverer, or better than other people. The usual
reaction is a sense of self-worth and also of pride. Pride can lead to arrogance
and boasting. Pride can also lead to megalomania, tyranny and brutality - as we
have seen through history whenever a military leader starts to think he is
invincible.
Socially
pride is a destroyer. The pride of life can turn materialism into a god, and the
pampering of the flesh into a fetish. As C.S.Lewis pointed out "Pride comes
from hell" and pride is one of the major sins against which God speaks many
times in anger. "Look on every one that is proud, and bring him low;
and tread down the wicked in their place". Job 40:12
It
is a common thing to see children behaving proudly. "I’m better than you
at . . ." Or "You’re so dumb!" Jeremiah 9:23
"Thus
says the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty
man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches:
But
let him that glories glory in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am
the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgement, and righteousness, in the
earth: for in these things I delight". Jeremiah 9:24
It
is obvious from this open statement that God is not competitive - not that He
would need to be(!) - but He reveals His heart to us here, like a man
pulling his shirt apart to show us what he is like underneath. He is, by Nature
the all-wise, the all-glorious and the all wealthy. He loves those things which
are most like Himself - love in action, kindness, caring, justice, fairness,
equality without bias, doing what is right, obedience . . . These are the things
He delights in, so what place does Man have to contradict God and elevate the
very things which God despises?
But
one might object : in order to do well at something, mustn’t one be
competitive? As I see it, no. The moment we compare ourselves, or possessions or
our performance with someone else we are stepping away from God, competitiveness
is always wrong - despite its sometimes grey colour.
For
example, we all agree that the Nazi Party was wicked and cruel, and its
behaviour based on the theory that Germans were a "Master Race" (The
Japanese thought they were children of the Sun) led to the worst crimes against
humanity. We could call this type of competitiveness ‘black pride’.
But
what colour is the pride when old Mrs X down the road wins the needlepoint
sewing contest? Or Mr Y gains the medal for growing the largest pumpkin? Or
little Z runs faster than all the primary school kids in his class at the
Sports? At which point does the grey become too dark to qualify as innocuous?
The
alternative is not, as one might think, a dull and boring life without drama or
excitement. The notion that the world could not operate without competition is
quite wrong. It (the notion, or reaction) comes from the mindset that "we
have always done things this way, so can’t we just leave things as they
are?" But Jesus always worked that way. He constantly challenged people and
presented the opposite as the best, while the familiar he tossed in the rubbish
bin.
Jesus
elevated the very qualities which ‘the world’ treads on. Blessed, He said,
are the poor in spirit, the sorrowful, the meek, the unrighteous,
merciful, pure, peaceful . . . all the things we are
brought up to devalue. Instead, we in the West are encouraged,
culturally, to be quite the opposite. Picture the self-made man (or woman),
surrounded by material blessings, talking on the cell phone in a top of the line
restaurant, wearing label clothing, demanding the best, swearing about some
person he or she resents, snobbish, proud . . . we meet them all the time. We
see it starting when they are children, already aiming at the best job, the
money, the things of this world. Ambition. Desire to reach the top. Grasping
ahead at the things they want, the things they can have. Blessed are the poor in
spirit? The meek? No way!
But
strangely enough (or perhaps not, considering the fact that God made humans and
put a little of Himself into them) we find the very themes which Jesus elevated,
which God values, cropping up time after time in movies. How often have we seen
the hero, beaten and on the run, suddenly able to win by destroying the villain,
yet offering mercy to the villain, even at the point where mercy could spell his
own doom? What makes this a ‘great’ moment is the Christ likeness of the
hero’s actions. Instinctively we see something great in mercy, yet we are also
culturally conditioned to ignore it when it comes to the real world.
The
New Testament teaches:
"For
Moses said, Honour your father and your mother; and, Whoso curses father or
mother, let him die the death" Mark 7:10
"Be
kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one
another" Romans 12:10
"And
those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we
bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant
comeliness". 1 Corinthians 12:23
"I
have showed you all things, how that so labouring you ought to support the weak,
and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to
give than to receive". Acts 20:35
"For
we are glad, when we are weak, and you are strong: and this also we wish, even
your perfection". 2 Corinthians 13:9
But
what can we make of the two references in the New testament which seem to imply
that Christianity itself is competitive. The context shows that this is
not the case at all. In the first reference - "Fight the good fight of
faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto you are also called, and have
professed a good profession before many witnesses." 1 Timothy 6:12 - Paul
is urging Timothy to make his Christian life an entirely personal thing,
between him and God. It would be peculiar if Christians were to compete
in such things as kindness and love. "I’m kinder than you! So what? I
have more love!" And how do you compete in charity, forgiveness,
tenderheartedness and humility?
The
second reference is " . . . they which run in a race run all, but one
receives the prize? So run, that ye may obtain". 1 Corinthians 9:24. But
the context is the same as that for Timothy. Paul has just finished explaining
how he is weak to those who are weak. Are Christians then to compete in
condescension? That would be a total absurdity. "I identify with the poor
better than you! Oh yeah? I show more sympathy!"
So
we have a dilemma when we come to the subject of designing a game. If we follow
the worldly pattern, our game will be competitive, (and probably quite exciting)
yet that does not fit with Christian philosophy. If, on the other hand, we
follow the Christian way, we must design a game which incorporates the "Blesseds",
and that means we cannot have a competitive game. It has to be entirely other.
Types
of Games
There
are many types of game in the world. Before we look at the philosophies behind
them, we will try to break the subject down into simpler forms.
Physical
sports
General
knowledge
Personal
skills
Problem
solving
Accumulation
Physical
sports
includes all the events of the Olympics plus all the other similar pursuits,
including deep-diving and mountaineering. In all these events the athlete pushes
him or herself to great lengths to obtain a personal goal, (overcoming fatigue
and danger) and a material prize. (a medal, award, certificate etc) So clear-cut
is this form of competition that few spectators ever remember who came fourth,
let alone third or second. Five hundred people may set out on the Coast to
Coast, but only the winner gets onto the news that night. The world recognises
winners and ignores most other places. Nothing is given to those who actually
try harder than the winner, yet lose. Few if any accolades are given to those
who attempt to win yet have no chance at all.
And
when a year or two has passed, the winners are forgotten as new competitors take
their place.
General
knowledge
is always held in high esteem. For some reason the world values people who know
a lot. The label "genius" is attached and they are given great
respect. God, of course, is not impressed by Man’s ability to remember or
think. Looking at history one can see why - every civilization which boasted of
its intellect was also barbarous and atheistic. Take the Greeks for example.
Still admired today for their wisdom, yet a nation sunk in idolatry, sexual
immorality and ignorance of the true God. Take the Romans. They held sway over a
huge area of the world, yet they were riddled with cruelty, homosexuality,
idolatry and other revolting practises. It is no wonder God has little time for
Man’s intellect.
Personal
skills
- gymnasts, jugglers, acrobats, and all the other varied and wonderful
demonstrations of the body and mind in high control. One cannot help but admire
the beauty, grace, balance, and mechanics of the human body - the hand of God in
motion - yet Man forgets where the body comes from and instead revels in what
can be done with it. If all things come from God, on what grounds can anyone
boast?
"He
delights not in the strength of the horse: he takes no pleasure in the legs of a
man." Psalm 147:10 (i.e. He is not impressed by a man’s physical
strength)
He
that plants the ear, shall he not hear? he that formed the eye, shall he not
see?" Psalm 94:9
"For
bodily exercise profits little: but godliness is profitable to all things,
having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come." 1
Timothy 4:8
In
this last reference God places "bodily exercise" against
"godliness" and godliness wins. If this was a competition, all the
keep fit programs, the diets, the muscle-toning exercises and so on, would be
closed right down to the level of a gentle walk round the block and a sensible
diet. God values our moral life more than our physical life. One reason why this
would be so is because our bodies are doomed to decay and death from the time we
are conceived. There is really no point in trying to preserve a machine which is
rusting from the inside. (But notice Paul does place some value, not no
value, on physical fitness)
Problem
solving.
This sort of competition covers a very wide range - from the up and coming
executive, to the mechanic, to the old lady whose garden is better than her
neighbour’s, to the fisherman who designs a better hook to catch the biggest
fish, to the child who gets the highest mark in the exam, to the technician who
gets admired for his highly-paid, difficult job - and everyone knows about how
good he is at it because he has a card, and a black case, a a sleek car . . . .
But none of these things are bad in themselves, its just that people like to let
other people know that they are smarter than everyone else. Rather than enjoy
the satisfaction of solving problems, people turn their success into a thing of
pride.
Accumulation.
This form of accumulation is also practised over a wide range of pursuits. It
includes people who collect things - cars, salt and pepper shakers, shells,
paintings, and so on - and people who collect other things, like cars, houses,
estates, money, clothes and other expensive items. The more one accumulates, the
more valuable the world sees that person as being. Self-esteem is measured in
dollars.
It
would be nice if we could say here that Christians have overcome all these
things and live, instead, just the way Jesus taught, but the reality is miles
away! Christians are often so far from the way they ought to be they present no
challenge to the world. The world usually sees Christians as offering no
markedly different lifestyle, and therefore no temptingly better
alternative to what it already has.
The
reason this is so is because the ‘world’ is, in reality, the logical
outgrowth of the old, sinful nature which all humans share - regardless of
whether they are Christians or not. Fallen Western culture is Adam and Eve’s
sinful nature institutionalised.
So
what most Christians do, in this fallen world, is strike a ‘happy medium’,
(which they can personally live with), some ‘acceptable compromise’,
which is not too extreme in the world’s direction, and just Christian
enough to let them sleep at night without feeling condemned. A little bit
Christian and a little bit worldly. And every Christian finds the balance they
can live with.
But
the world’s love of competition has many destructive aspects, so it is highly
dangerous to flirt with it.
Competition
has led to many dead or brain-damaged boxers, many injured equestrians, many
crippled rugby players and so on. Sport has become an injury machine. And with
sport has come gambling, which has been and is a curse to families. Sport has
channelled vast amounts of advertising money into ‘stars’ and ‘products’
- everything from clothes to cosmetics, sweets to vehicles. Sporting champions
are elevated to stardom and treated like royalty. Competition has also led to
many crushed and broken spirits, as ‘losers’ suffer the shame of being not
quite good enough to gain a place. Competition causes poverty, illness,
premature death, injury, social chaos, and many other ills.
Christianity
on the other hand, produces brotherly love, supportive families, loving
fellowships, sympathy, empathy, help for the weak, charity, generosity,
forgiveness, and a huge value is placed on those who fall out of the world’s
basket. As the prophet said about Jesus : "A bruised reed shall he not
break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench" Isaiah 42:3. Jesus
ministered to the "bruised reed" people and the "smoking
flax" people because, in a competitive world, these were the people who
needed to be lifted up. The world trod on these reeds and flax leaves, but Jesus
came to them in love and gentleness.
But
having said all this about the many different forms of competitiveness, we have
to admit there are many overlaps between them, and many shades of each kind.
The
one thing they all have in common is the elevation of one person over another.
Designing
games.
Before
anyone designs a game, they ought to first write down their philosophy of life.
Luck,
choice and accumulation.
Most
games tend to have one or two or three of three different structures within
them. For example, in Monopoly, there is luck at the throwing of the
dice, there is choice at the point of sale or mortgage, and there is accumulation
at the hoarding of money and property. The winner is the one who out-buys
everyone else and ruins the other players financially. Monopoly is very similar
to real life. To win one must be ruthless, unforgiving, merciless. Losers may
fight for hours, but either luck or accumulation will finally destroy their
wealth and leave them bankrupt. Oh well, hard luck. Another game?
Of
course a Christian could never design a game based on Monopoly, and at the same
time claim to have designed a Christian game. Monopoly goes against all
the basic Christian values. It is a ‘dog eat dog’ game - if one sticks
strictly to the rules.
But
what alternative does a Christian have? A text adventure? Perhaps, but there may
be a winner and a loser because some players may not understand the clues, or
reach the end, so it would have to be a game which everyone could win, but then
there might be an argument over who was the fastest at winning so there
would have to be more rules to control that.
How
about a game based entirely on luck? Hardly the most exciting prospect.
Solitaire comes close to this, although a little skill is sometimes required.
Usually the player sorts the cards according to the way they are dealt and makes
almost no decisions right up to the moment when all the cards are piled up in
their suits. Roulette and other luck games are at least more interesting to
watch.
Chess
is out because this is highly competitive, with (usually) only one winner, and
plenty of room for pride. Draughts is much the same. Snakes and ladders is
entirely luck-based, yet children get great pleasure out of it. The dice is
‘God’, determining what each player will do from first to last. Poker may be
more challenging but again it is almost entirely luck-based too. The list could
go on, but it should be clear by now that if one examines the philosophy behind
a game, one can sort out the games which are most like Christ, from those which
are the least.
Perhaps
we can separate the elements and find a general definition.
Most
like: Least like:
More
than one ‘winner’ Only one winner
All
participants gain a prize Only one competitor gains a prize
Participants
help each other Competitors try to ‘destroy’ each other
Slower
players cared for Slower players are left behind
Success
measured by joy Success measured by status symbols
No
losers Always losers
One
of the most Christian things I have come across is the rule when tramping. The
strongest walkers are required to walk at the back with the weakest walkers. In
other words the best must never go any faster than the worst. If this principle
was applied to most of the usual worldly games many absurd results would follow.
The
three elements : luck, choice and accumulation are all ‘open-ended’, that
is, they can be abused or used, depending on who has them. The following is a
brief look at this.
Luck
To
some Christians, luck is a bad word. To them it means heathen superstition. It
relates to the Fates and to gods or goddesses determining events in our lives.
It seems to imply that God is not fully in control of all things,
and that some things slip by his attention without His being able to intervene.
Of course, if that were true, God would not be the God of the Bible.
Luck,
on the other hand, could simply mean "things that happen
unexpectedly". This would include "good" and "bad"
luck - both extremely subjective words. Sometimes people try to soften the word
and say "providence", or "chance", or "fortune"
but the meaning is still much the same.
The
problem with "luck" as an unexpected thing, is that what may
suit one person, will assuredly not suit another. For example one farmer may
need rain, while the other farmer over the fence may be dreading it. But
"unexpected" does not rule out God. We may pray for something and then
be surprised by an answer from an unexpected quarter - such as a cheque from
someone we didn’t know - and we may say that what happened was
"lucky" but what we really me is that it was "unexpected".
The
double-edged nature of "luck" is obvious. Suppose you are hit by a car
and injured. You go to hospital and there, next to your bed, is your long lost
brother. Is this good or bad luck?
Again,
you are going to the shop with some hard-earned money, saved to buy someone a
special gift, but the wind catches the money from your hand and blows it out of
sight. You go home feeling angry and sad, but you don’t know that three miles
away a poor, hungry child was praying for some money to buy food.
Again,
you are at the prime of your life when you suddenly develop cancer. All your
dreams are shattered as you die slowly, but as you die you write a book about
your faith in God and after you are gone the book becomes a tremendous help to
millions. Was the cancer a piece of bad luck or good luck?
Again,
a certain brilliant military genius goes for a brief sea voyage just prior to
taking command of the country’s forces, but a sudden gale sinks the ship and
he drowns. If he had not drowned he would have executed his planned invasion on
several weak nations and brought years of misery to a portion of the world.
Luck
is therefore only our personal interpretation of events. What we call
"good" luck is only "good" as we see it to be
"good". "Bad" luck is equally difficult to pin down.
Sometimes the baddest things have actually produced many good things.
And
this is exactly how Scripture puts it. We live in a fallen world. Nature is
subject to the rules of cause and effect. From the beginning of Time everything
in the natural world is part of a chain of events, each joined to the one which
preceded it. From the first wave on the ocean to the first flap of a
butterfly’s wings, the unbreakable chain of cause and effect rolls on, and
humans, who are caught up in this sequence, are the only creatures who are able
to stand back a little from this phenomenon and make observations. This
unsettles us and disturbs us, because we either feel like lords over creation or
trapped rats, subject to the invincible march of causes and effects.
But
this is how it should be, because God has given Man a little of Himself. Man is
therefore part of creation yet also over it. Man has instincts and free
will. Man has limited understanding, so Man explains the unexpected as
luck, and the understood as science (knowing). God has given Man self-awareness,
so Man can see that he and Nature are not exactly the same. All of Nature is
driven by pre-programmed instincts. Man is free to indulge his instincts or deny
them.
Another
aspect of luck is the theological dilemma which the Calvinists hold dear - that
of predestination and the sovereignty of God. The general idea is that because
God knows everything, He also determines everything. This means that, logically,
if God decides that you or I should be saved and spend eternity with Him, we
will, regardless of how we feel about it. On the other hand, some people will go
to hell regardless of how hard they try not to.
Some
of the consequences of this sot of thinking are :
1.
Christians do not need to preach the gospel because God will save people anyway,
2.
There is no such thing as luck (unexpected events) because God decrees all
things,
3.
If we become sick we need not use medicine because if God has decided that we
are to die, no amount of medicine will help,
4.
Heaven and hell will be full of equally surprised people.
The
solution to this puzzle is simple. God is the First Cause of all things. (All
Calvinists would agree with this), but Man is a Second Cause, that is, God has
given Man the awesome potential to alter things. Logically, if this was not so,
God would be the author of evil, because (as the Calvinists would say) it was
God who caused Adam to sin. God must therefore be good and wicked at the same
time, and the originator of all sin. Such a conclusion is totally absurd.
Obviously, God is pure and good and perfect, and Man is a free will agent, able
to make ‘godlike’ decisions. This is why the world is in such a mess -
because humans keep choosing the wrong things. When they do this, they set off
new chains of causes and effects and the result is the present reality.
If
people were clever enough, and if they knew all the rules of cause and effect,
they could deliberately make causes and know the effects right down the line.
But people are not clever enough, and they don’t know all the rules, so the
unexpected keeps happening, and they call it good or bad luck depending on how
they interpret it.
"I
returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the
battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of
understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happens to
them all". Ecclesiastes 9:11
Choice.
Most
games have an element of choice. In Monopoly you can choose to buy a property or
pass it. In chess you can choose from a myriad of moves. In the physical games
you can choose to pass the ball or keep it, kick or not kick, throw or not throw
and so on. The whole physical game is one huge choice, because the alternative
is to not play at all. For many people almost their whole lives are the result
of choice - professional boxers, golfers and so on. Choice is a wonderful gift,
and used properly it can produce a fulfilled and rich life.
The
whole Christian life is a complex series of choices too, as each temptation
comes along. It is not as many young Christians think - God does not make all
our decisions for us. In fact He makes almost none of them. We are just
as free to make choices after we become Christians as we are before.
In fact God does not want to lead us about like some coddling, overbearing
parent, always holding our shoulders and pointing us where we should go,
gripping our hand and steering or tugging us along . . . that would be
patronising us, and also rather stifling. (Strangely though, many Christians are
constantly pleading with God to take control of their lives. If God really did
that He would be on the same level as a tyrant!)
"
. . . choose you this day whom ye will serve" Joshua 24:15 These words
capture the entire subject in one breath. God wants us to exercise our God-given
ability to make free choices, and then learn from the consequences.
Why
do so many people destroy their lives? "For that they hated knowledge, and
did not choose the fear of the LORD" Proverbs 1:29
What
can Christians learn from other people’s mistakes? "Envy not the
oppressor, and choose none of his ways" Proverbs 3:33 "...The curse of
the LORD is in the house of the wicked". Proverbs 3:31
"For
thus says the LORD to the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things
that please me . . ." Isaiah 56:4
"Stand
therefore . . ." Ephesians 6:14
In
all the above verses choice is being exercised. If it was not so the Calvinists
could say that God forces us to be good, or to be dynamic Christians, in which
case we have no choice at all. And of course this is one of the most glorious
things about the present system, because if I go to heaven it will because I
made a free choice to believe - whereas if someone else hears the gospel,
understands it, and then chooses to reject it, they will miss out on heave - not
because God planned it that way, but because they chose their own destiny. Any
other approach makes a mockery of the word freedom.
Accumulation.
In
Monopoly the ultimate aim is to gather to yourself all the money, all the
properties and all of anything else available. In many other worldly games a
similar objective exists. The goal of many professionals is to be the best every
year at every game and to stay the best for as long as possible. Some champions
have whole rooms devoted to the display of medals, cups, trophies and
certificates. Some game players measure their success in terms of the amount of
money they have gained, or the level of promotion they have achieved. Its not
just on the printed board with the counters and the dice that the principle of
accumulation happens - its part of life. Some labourers talk of the
"hours" they work, some people like to talk about the number of books
they have read, or miles they have driven, or sheep they have shorn, or the size
of the bills they have paid . . . in every aspect of life there is competition
going on.
But
this is not to say that accumulation is in itself wrong. There are many examples
in the Bible where accumulation is seen as a blessing.
"Therefore
God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of
corn and wine" Genesis 27:28
"And
Joseph gathered corn as the sand of the sea, very much, until he left numbering;
for it was without number". Genesis 41:49
"And
Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold". Genesis 13:2
In
each of these cases, God gave people the ability to accumulate a great amount
for a good reason. (For example see Proverbs 3:5-10 where trust and obedience to
God are followed by abundance of material prosperity, and contrast it with Joel
1:17.) The trouble arises when people accumulate for the wrong reasons -
greed, lust, pride, ego, etc. See, for example, the "fool", in Luke
12:18, who built bigger barns just to hold his increase, just so he could admire
himself.
Designing
a Christian game could be one of the most difficult things in the world. The
very fact that it is a "game" implies competition. Perhaps Christians
should never play games? Because as soon as even one person begins to aim
at some object (such as general knowledge, moving a counter, rolling a
dice, selecting a property, moving to a new position . . .) The potential for
competition arises. Even if the game is aimed at encouraging love and fellowship
there will be that horrible little weed called pride planted somewhere in the
works. It is human nature, the worst side of being human, to compete. There is
an inherent bias, something built into us, thanks to Adam, which makes us want
to measure ourselves by other people. If we are better than someone else, we
feel better about ourselves - if we are not as good as someone else, we feel the
opposite. Our self-esteem is so often based on what other people think about us.
Games are a sort of barometer, measuring and revealing self-esteem, and
revealing worldly values.
The
game of gambling.
Many
Christians gamble, and they see nothing wrong with it. As we said before,
everyone finds a compromise point between worldliness and godliness, and for
many Christians a little gambling is not seen as too wicked to bother avoiding.
C.S.Lewis smoked a pipe and drank ale at the local pub. Some Christians would
condemn him for both.
But
gambling involves parting with what some Christians call "the Lord’s
money", and besides, the whole idea of gambling is to make a lot of money
out of a little money, without having to work for it. The work ethic is
very strongly taught through the Bible, so gambling must be a terrible sin,
right? Perhaps.
Actually
the Bible never uses the word "gamble", but it does speak of "lots",
which were identical objects containing hidden numbers or words. The drawing of
the "lot" was therefore a type of gambling because no-one knew who
would win the most or least. (One could say of course that God guided the
"lot" but we are still stuck with the act of drawing an unknown
reward).
"And
you shall divide the land by lot for an inheritance among your families:
and to the more ye shall give the more inheritance, and to the fewer ye shall
give the less inheritance: every man's inheritance shall be in the place where
his lot falls; according to the tribes of your fathers you shall inherit".
Numbers 33:54
One
good thing about the "lot" was its neutrality. It was the great
decider. No human intervention could impinge on the outcome of a lot when drawn,
and often the outcome was attributed to God. This feeling that some divine
intervention is involved is still inherent with many gamblers today, who pray
before they gamble, and thank God if they win. Another form of the
"lot" today is the tossing of a coin, for example before a sports
event, but also in many other situations.
In
Hebrew the word for "lot" is ‘goral’, meaning ‘pebble’ or ‘hebel’,
meaning ‘measuring line, or portion’. In the writings of Homer and Cicero,
even the gods used the "lot" to decide matters. Israel’s High Priest
used to carry two objects called the Urim and Thummim, which acted as a
"yes" and "no" depending on which was drawn from the pouch
after prayer to God. (See refs. Judges 1:1-3, 20:9, Josh. 18:10, Acts 13:9,
Obadiah 11, Joel 3:3, Neh. 3:10, Matt. 27:35, Prov. 16:33, 18:18, Josh. 7:14,
Luke 1:9, Acts 1:26)
But
in a more general way, life itself can be a gamble. We never know absolutely
what will happen in each day we live. Unexpected things come along. The phone
rings, visitors call in, a letter arrives. Some we know dies, someone else has a
baby. The weather provides a sudden fall of snow, or a bird comes down the
chimney. We gamble with our lives every time we drive. We risk our health every
time we eat something. Even if we sit in a chair without moving we can have a
headache, or the hiccups. Life never ceases to provide an endless stream of
experiences, some funny, some sad, and it is impossible to be neutral about
them. As someone said "Only a dead man feels no pain".
The
down side of gambling is (1) most gamblers are people who cannot afford it, (2)
gambling is a certified unsafe investment, (3) the best way to get rich is to
work hard wisely. The dream of getting rich is, for most gamblers, just that, a
dream, and while the Bible doesn’t condemn gambling outright, it does give
some instructions on how to get wealth - but that is the topic of another essay.
The main principles are hard work, wise investment, honesty, diligence, careful
public relations and the right focus in life. Working for wealth as an end in
itself is a waste of time, because greed is never satisfied, whereas working for
wealth as a means to providing help to weaker, poorer people, is right inside
God’s best plan.
Finally.
So
how would a Christian game look?
1.
It would probably cater for all players equally (because all Christians are
brothers and sisters in the same Family),
2.
It would probably be educational (because God desires Christians to become
wise),
3.
It would probably involve some luck (because life is sprinkled with luck),
4.
It would probably have a goal which all players could achieve easily (because
the more difficult the game was the more likely pride could creep in),
5.
It would probably give players room to make freewill decisions, (because that is
how God designed us),
.
. . and it would probably contain aspects of beauty, design, truth and so on,
all things which come from God, because if it didn’t, it would represent a
denial of our origins. It is because of these aspects that it seems to me
virtually impossible to design a Christian game. The result would not really be
a game. It would be so unlike most games that it would amount to something more
akin to a religious exercise, or devotions. Perhaps ‘going to church’ is the
nearest thing Christians have to a real Christian ‘game’?
Perhaps
after 2000 years of ‘going to church’, Christians have been enjoying the
greatest ‘game’ of all time - fellowship with each other, and fellowship
with the Creator? All participants are winners, all have unexpected things
happen to them, all share an equal reward, all are encouraged to grow strong,
all receive a prize, and all play the game through the exercise of their
freewill. Perhaps, as games go, God thought of it long ago, and Man, in his
usual manner, has twisted the Perfect Game into a multitude of horrible forms -
cults, religions and sects - while all along the way the glorious Game has been
available to everyone.
"How is it then, brethren? when you come together, every one of you has a psalm, has a doctrine, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done to edifying". 1 Corinthians 14:26