Sometimes, I will choose to lose.
When my boys were young, I taught them to play chess. It’s a complex game. It takes time and lots of mistakes until you can be a bit competitive. In order for them to stay in the game and not become too discouraged, I’d purposely leave one of my chess pieces vulnerable to their attack — just once in a while.
Then they’d make the right move, capture my piece, and that moment would be better progress for them than me wiping them out in quick, decisive, painful defeat.
Do you ever choose to lose?
When a near collision on a busy road spikes your adrenalin, do you let the other vehicle have the “win” and back off to avoid an incident of road rage? I hope so.
When you and a coworker are working on a project and it flops. It’s their fault. Do you ever hang in there and take heavy criticism by their side, as a team? I hope so.
Here’s some biblical advice for the next time you are playing chess with God.
You know, when you are maneuvering and manipulating to get your way. You are conniving to control circumstances the way you want. You actually believe that you can make a better move than God and take out one of his pieces that is threatening you.
Maybe it’s a specific one of his holy commands. Maybe it’s an ongoing expectation he has for you to be more generous than you are, to complain less than you do, or to do the hard work the hard way (the right way) instead of your easy way. That’s playing chess with God.
Choose to lose. Not to teach God something like I was teaching my boys. Rather, to learn something divinely important for you. That’s why God is making moves. He knows what is good, what is holy, what is best, what will work out for you better than your ideas or opinions.
Can you trust him for that? After all, he chose to lose when he gave up his one and only Son Jesus into the murderous mockery of sinful humanity. And into all your sins of playing games with God you shouldn’t be playing.
Sometimes, you lose something in this life and it isn’t your choice. It’s beyond your control.
You lose your left pinky in a woodworking accident, despite practicing safety measures. Your child gets bullied at school. Your job is terminated. Ouch. Those losses hurt. I’m not talking about those kinds of losses when I say choose to lose. Though you do choose how to respond.
I’m talking about giving up a chess piece to God. It’s valuable to you. It can gain you something that you feel is important. But you intentionally move it into position — with lots of prayer and trust — for God to capture it. You want him to have it so that he can use it however he wants. So that he can maneuver and manipulate with less interference from you.
Your will to secure and control and win is surrendered, and you know it’s right. You trust in God. Then, watch what happens. Watch how God plays. No, he won’t just let you win, that’s dangerous. Rather, you will both win.
“Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it” (Luke 17:33).
PRAYER: Dear God, do you know that I’m good at playing chess with you? Do you know that I have some tricky moves? Of course you do. I confess that I can’t trick you. I don’t even want to trick you. Rather, I want you to win with every move. Then, we both win! Amen.
EVANGELISM ACTION: Share this blog with a friend who needs Jesus, and talk to them about taking divine chess lessons.