When playing poker, it is advisable to maintain your opponents guessing until it is time to start your cards. Poker players often enjoy misdirecting one other players regarding strength of their hand using the intent of manipulating their decisions. Poker is definately a trendy game because no person really knows who holds the best cards until the very end when everyone's hand is revealed. When you are looking at betting how far better to please God and ourselves, life's choices can seem to be simular to playing poker.
Traditional Christians are betting that believing in Jesus as their Lord and Savior is a lot like holding the supreme wild card that trumps all the others. For Muslims, believing in the five pillars of Islam can be analogous to holding the five best cards in the deck. The Hindus' belief in reincarnation can be seen as having an unlimited amount of poker hands and funds to learn until we succeed. Buddhists might understand the highest goal as every player at the table holding cards that end up with a balanced draw for anyone.
It is not hard to find out in utilizing this poker analogy that doesn't most people are playing through the same rules and may also believe anyone not following their rules isn't playing with the full deck. But then this good question arises, 'Are we playing poker and competing with the other person or, shall we be playing poker with/against God'? That may seem like an odd as well as inappropriate question but the fact is worth exploring.
Most religions agree that God is all-powerful and all-knowing. Playing poker with God clearly eliminates any bluffing strategies. Realizing God can stack those times in a order He likes regardless of how they are shuffled and cut means the result has already been assured could the action begins. It really all relies on what we should believe God's goal was in creating us inside first place.
Many Christians feel God's fascination with us is conditional and our salvation is only achieved by seeking the winning wildcard (salvation through Jesus) a moment before we die. Others still think that we earn our salvation through our choices and deeds done on God's behalf. The Bible lets us know that God is unwilling for almost any repentant soul to perish, so a spot their faith in God's desire to stack the deck of life in your favor in order that all His children are eventually saved despite having provided us with free will. So, the same as with poker, there are many of bets up for grabs of life but no one knows a better solution until all the cards are revealed so we cash in our chips. But think on this'
If God truly is love, is all-knowing and all-powerful, and is also the most wonderful parent we will ever imagine, will we really think you'll find any cards He is holding that He won't share with us? Do we presume He would create even here one soul will not eventually be saved at the time of the choosing instead of irreversibly condemned? Do we presume God cannot or unwilling in order to save all His children yet deciding we need to have free will? If so, then we are creating a false God within our own less-than-perfect image as opposed to doing all we can easily to compare well and 'Be ye therefore perfect' as Jesus taught and showed us.
The only sure bet we've in daily life is the fact that God has stacked those times in your favor. We can remain losers provided you want, for all of us have free will, but our separation from Him is not the will of our loving Father. The strategy to actually win is to learn by His rules of unconditional love following a Golden Rule and the perfect role model shown to us through the life of Jesus. Once we all do, then life's not really a game of ups-and-downs, but rather a limitless experience with love and joy in God's abundant universe.
As always, I welcome your queries and comments at [email protected].