Ever heard of the Game? You haven't? That's funny, because we all play it. We don't have a choice: if you live life, you play the Game. The opponent is always the same: the Devil. So you sit down at the table and the Devil says, "You pick the rules." There are two books on the table. One says, "God's Rules." The other says, "The Devil's Rules." And you think to yourself: "Well, God's not even playing the game... He's gotta be more of an impartial rule-maker than my opponent!"
So you pick up 'God's Rules' and start to flip through it...
"The Devil always loses.
Anyone on the Devil's team loses, too.
If you sin, you're on the Devil's team.
Anything wrong is sin, down to the smallest mean thought you have."
There are more, but you think to yourself, "That doesn't sound too good," and you put down "God's Rules."
Next you pick up "The Devil's Rules" and start to flip through it...
"You must obey all of the rules.
Anything wrong you do gives you points.
The more points you have, the more likely it is you'll win."
There are more, but you think to yourself, "I think I've got more of a chance to win by 'The Devil's Rules' than by 'God's Rules.'"
You look at your opponent and say, "We'll play by your rules."
And you start to play the Game. It's pretty easy... You just make all possible bad choices, which is kind of fun... You blow through, and soon the Game is finished.
You've got countless points, and you're feeling pretty smug about it. You've beaten the Devil! But the Devil seems unperturbed. He sits there for awhile, letting you gloat inside. Then he starts laughing. And that kind of freaks you out... I mean, shouldn't he be mad that he lost?
And he leans across the table and says, "I win."
"What? But I followed the rules! I made all the wrong choices and got all possible points! I win!"
"Read them again," he offers, and so you pick up the book and flip to the end, where you read the last rule.
And, just to rub it in, the Devil hands you "God's Rules." You flip to the end, where you read: "If you've sinned, turn to God. God will always accept a penitent sinner. God will erase your sin and make it like none of it ever happened. Turn to God, and you'll be on God's team. God's team always wins."
And your heart sinks as he leads you away... You call out, "I'm sorry, God! Help me!"
But the Devil laughs and says, "You chose my rules. God's nowhere in my rules."
The Devil's a liar. He is the father of lies. You can't beat him on your own: you need God. You see, the problem is, if you play by the Devil's rules, you have to play by ALL of the Devil's rules... And the last rule is: "The Devil always wins."
