Have you ever wondered if people are playing games around you, and you realize that you are not a participant; furthermore, you do not even know the rules? You know what is true and noble and honorable. You know that there is a moral foundation to the universe. And yet – all around you – you see people mocking the Commandments, twisting the Constitution, asserting that black is white, and that evil is good. If you mourn over this (and even if you don’t), read on.
People played games in the time of Christ Jesus; they may have had different personalities and characters and situations to deal with, but they were games nevertheless. One game was named “holiness,” in which one “religious” group tried to be “holier” than another. This game is still being played, although it doesn’t usually involve the word “religion”; it usually uses “moral courage” or some other euphemism for the same concept. These game-participants speak phrases and sentences that they know are not true, and – to prove their point – they redefine most (if not every) key word. Do you recognize the phrase “safe and effective”? Have you heard the sentence, “We’re all in this together”?
Question: How can a substance be “safe and effective” when it has harmed and/or killed over 100,000 people?
Question: If “we’re all in this together,” why are ordinary people suffering under rules that only apply to some people, and not others?
Jesus said, “To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others: 'We played the pipe for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn'” (Matthew 11:16-17). In other words, some people were (are) playing made-up or fake games, and those who do not comply with the game-makers are condemned.
Another game people played in the time of Christ was “hate-the-Romans.” It was a very easy game to play, because the Romans were unmistakably evident; they often wore red-and-brown armor, and carried swords. They collected taxes and generally bullied people around. During Jesus’ sojourn on earth, it was terribly wrong for any Israelite to try to be friendly towards this enemy. (News flash! Jesus actually befriended a Roman centurion – see Luke 7:1-10.) Nowadays, we speak of “blue” and “red” states, and one gets the distinct impression that the bullies have adopted these colors so that they can label their enemies for easy target practice.
Question: What does a “blue” state look like? What does a “red” state look like? Are either of these colors mentioned in the Constitution of the United States?
Jesus said, “The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45).
There is a third game / dance that I would like to mention. It is called “offend-no-one.” In Jesus’ time, the religious leaders were always accusing Him of “offending” someone. You will, I trust, remember why they said this: He ate and drank with sinners; He healed on the Sabbath; He performed startling miracles that demonstrated His connection with His Father in Heaven. He “offended” the “righteous” people around Him – and, yes, He was still God. No one could stop Him permanently, just as certain scientists can call a male a “female” today – but it changes nothing; it stops nothing. God decides who is a male or a female at the moment of conception (yes, the parents play a part, but He does the DNA-directing).
Question: Why do people insist we pretend that men in women’s clothing are “female”? Why do people pretend that a woman-with-a-beard who gives birth is somehow a “male” performing a miraculous event?
Jesus said, “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female…? (Matthew 19:4). (The “He” that Jesus referred to is God the Father.)
There is a dance [of unrighteousness] being performed around you; do not participate. There is a game [of word manipulation and subterfuge] being played before your very eyes; do not become a game-piece.
