Genesis 4:1-15 - It’s Friday, the end of the work week and almost the end of spring break for a lot of kids in our area. We’ve been blessed this past week to have both of our grandkids with us while they were on break. We’ve done all the things, went to the movies, out to eat, played numerous games and since they go home today, we topped it off with our annual visit to a bowling alley/game arcade/movie theater yesterday for once last big hurrah.
It's become something of tradition for us; we’ve gone to this place every spring break for the past four or five years with them. We bowl, play in the arcade, sometimes go to a movie and then eat at a restaurant there. It’s always a good time and yesterday was no different. But something struck me yesterday as we spent some time in the arcade after bowling. Most of us have been to those game arcades. They’re basically mini casinos for kids.
You start out getting a card, much like a credit card that you have pre-loaded an amount of money on. That card is what you use to play games. You swipe your card at the game, it deducts the amount to play from your balance, and you play. And when you play well, the machine automatically adds points to your card. So, one is basically trading legal currency for points. But more about that later.
When you first walk into the arcade your senses automatically go into overload. The sounds that reach your ears are a cacophony of bells, whistles, music, buzzers, explosions from various video games, robotic voices announcing winners and challenging you to “Try again!”. Lights flashing on every machine, all bright to catch your eye, not soft and subtle lights, no, these are bright red, gold, flashing, spinning enticing.
And the kids…oh the kids. Dozens of them, yelling, screaming, running from one machine to the other as if they’re afraid they may miss out on the next great prize to roll out of the Willie Wonka coin game or the Minions claw grab. There are aliens to shoot, hoops to shoot, rock walls to climb, virtual roller coasters to ride, air hockey to play, skee-balls to skee, and moles to whack. And when it’s all done and your money card is empty, there’s one last thing to do.
You take that card that you’ve been using to play the games with to a room called, “The Redemption Center” (seriously, there is a sign outside the door) And there you are rewarded for the games you played. The redemption room has shelf lined walls filled with toys, gadgets, games and candy. You can purchase these items with the points that you earned on your card.
And everything in the redemption room is a disappointment. They are the cheapest of cheap items. 2,000 points might get you a few pieces of hard candy and a .99cent frisbee. There is no real reward there, only a cost.
I got to thinking about this and couldn’t help but to make a comparison with our lives, especially our spiritual lives. How easy it is for us to get distracted by all the bells and whistles of this life. How we just run from one thing to another looking for the next big score. Constantly trying to build up “stuff”. We empty our lives on the things that catch our attention. Those things we think we can’t live without, and we drain ourselves for a few minutes of instant gratification. And if we’re not careful at the end of it all, when the music stops, the lights go out, and we walk into the redemption room we’ll find that we squandered our lives for a cheap fake.
Jesus said,
“What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?”
(Matthew 16:26)
That’s a good question for all of us to ask ourselves. Because let’s face it, this world is Satan’s domain, and he has done a masterful job of turning it into an arcade game that gains all our attention. And if we fall for that and think that it’s all about this life and what we can grab and gain here and now, we will be disappointed. Because when it’s all said and done and the music stops, and the lights fade, we may find we have wasted it for a cheap imitation.
Paul told the Colossians:
“Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”
(Colossians 3:2)
We need to spend less time being enamored by this life and more time preparing for the next.
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day — and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”
(2 Timothy 4:7-8)
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