Is this world going crazy?
- Jane, wife & mother, focused all her effort on her spouse and children until her family unit imploded from personal bankruptcy.
- Bill, the workaholic was comfortable that his dedication was worth it, and would eventually be fully rewarded; until he lost his job due to COVID.
- Susan always took great care of herself, exercised, Yoga, meditation, home made meals focused on the best available organic foods; then she was suddenly diagnosed with Stage 4 bladder cancer, with 6 months to live.
- Tranquility and progress towards life long dreams are destroyed by a sudden freak storm, causing shipwreck.
People suddenly lose all sense of what's important, why they are here, what they are trying to accomplish. What's the point of life? Why was I born?
This sense of being lost is usually greatest for Atheists and Agnostics. However, luke-warm Christians can also become lost, or start questioning "Where's God when you need Him?".
We have been doing Christian Counselling for about 9 months now. We have found a need for a fast, easy method to point out shallow, or half-baked sense of purpose, and get it fixed or reinforced before trouble arrives. By doing that, disaster can be averted. A stitch in time saves nine. Prevention and mitigation rather than crying over spilled milk.
What we came up with is The Game of Life.
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| The 45 game cards for The Game of Life, spread out on the table, in the "ideal" sequence (least important in top left corner, most important in the bottom right corner) |
We developed 45 game cards, each card with one described lifestyle choice that some or most people choose for themselves. We then ask people to choose the card which is least important to them, and discard it out of their life forever. The discarding continues until the one, last, most important thing in their life is left.
By carefully choosing, people can learn (or reinforce) what is truly important in their lives.
When we did the game, we found the discard choices easy & obvious at first. Then we became stuck half way through. We then went to the opposite end, identifying the most essential card, then the 2nd most essential, and so on. This double-ended approach simplified our overall selection process. In the end, we had 4 cards remaining in the middle of the pack of cards, and by using paired comparison (eg. A vs. B, A vs. C, A vs. D, B vs. C, B vs. D, C vs. D), we were able to finish the priority sequence.
We have also gone through the cards, trying to sort them as close to the Bible-based sequence as we could achieve. We suggest this is God's ideal path for a Christian life in this sinful world. We are in this world, but must be separate and apart from this evil, prideful, covetous world.
We developed a spreadsheet so that we can measure anybody's chosen discard sequence versus our suggested ideal, Biblical sequence. We square the error between these two discard sequences so that small differences are minimized, but large differences are exposed (eg. putting God first, or putting God last are huge, important choices with eternal consequences).
Are you consistently walking God's chosen path for your life?
In the comments below, please leave us your suggestions to improve the game. What cards are missing? What cards need to be re-worded? How do we better describe, &/or use this simple game?
Download your free copy of The Game Of Life. Share it with a friend.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/g56vc8gfz0kytqy/GameOfLifeCardGame_B08.pdf?dl=0
The worst possible score is 30,360 which is likely what Satan would score; acting in total opposition to God & the Bible.
Take a video of you playing the game, post on the Internet, & send us a link or post link in the comments below. Who can get the highest or lowest score first time they play?
The Cards, in a randomized starting sequence
1. All Computers, Internet, email, texting, & software programs
2. Physical Exercise, Gym memberships, etc.
3. Television
4. All my favorite Music
5. Movies, cinema, theatres, plays, & concerts
6. Creative Arts (eg. writing, painting, drawing, composing music, playing music, singing, etc.)
7. Sports
8. My children (current &/or all future children)
9. Safe, private place to Live, cook, eat, sleep, store my things, & get out of the weather
10. My Parents, Step-Parents, Foster Parents &/or Guardians who cared for me as a child
11. Recreational Drugs
12. Comfortable, Warm, Dry Bed to sleep in & rest
13. Beautiful, fancy house
14. School, Learning, Courses, Study, Self Improvement
15. Good Friends who truly care about me
16. Junk Food, Fast Food, Drive-in Restaurants, Take-out Food, & Restaurants
17. To be Respected by Others
18. Safe, nutritious, tasty Food
19. Drinking Alcohol
20. Long Life
21. Reading interesting Books, Magazines, News, etc.
22. Transcending Purpose for Life that makes life worth living
23. Gambling (eg. Las Vegas, Lotteries, Scratch Tickets, Sports betting, etc.)
24. Enjoying the Natural World (eg. Mountains, oceans, lakes, rivers, forests, animals, birds, clouds, Sun/Moon/Stars, wind, snow, rain, etc.)
25. Getting High on drugs &/or Alcohol
26. Adequate supply of Clean, Safe Water
27. Good Neighbours
28. Games (eg. board games, darts, playing card games, etc.)
29. Basic, Functional Clothing to cover me & protect my body
30. My Spouse (current &/or all future Spouses)
31. Fun Vacations
32. My extended family (grandparents, Aunts/Uncles, Cousins, etc.)
33. Social clubs (eg. Lions Clubs, curling club, quilting, stamp collecting, car club, etc.)
34. To be treated with Dignity by Others
35. Responsibilities & Duties in my Life
36. Good Health
37. Smart Phone + unlimited Call/Data Plan & all my favorite Apps
38. Smoking Cigarettes, Cigars, Vaping, etc.
39. Good night's sleep, waking up totally refreshed
40. Fantastic clothes
41. Good car that works
42. God & His Love, Help, Guidance, & Eternal Salvation
43. Love
44. Reading Bible every day
45. Praying to confess my sins, repent, & ask God for forgiveness every day
