Lessons From Nintendo

Ok, I know this may feel like a stretch, but go with me. I have a serious "like" for playing video games. It's not an addiction. I can stop any time I want to, I just haven't made the decision to do that yet. The game that keeps me mesmerized for some reason is called Bust-A-Move by Nintendo. The Wii version is a little different from the old console version, but it's got me hooked. I love shooting the colored balls down and trying to keep the game going longer than I did last time. Fortunately, God gave me an actual lesson in playing this to justify the time wasted.

I've gotten pretty good at this game because I play it a lot, even when I have a ton of other work I need to do. Must stop doing that. Anyway, I realized that I could be better my score if I changed my strategy. I tend to save my power balls until the very last second to save me from losing. But sometimes I wait too long and the game's over, even when I had a power ball that could have saved me. I learned that if I use my power balls freely, but smartly, more will come my way to grab. Holding onto them isn't productive to getting my score higher.

You see where I'm going with this? It's like money. We want to hold onto that little bit of safety in our hot little hands because we're afraid to let it go. We might need it for an emergency. But every situation where we could be using it never seems important enough to let go. Giving it up, even to bless someone else, seems wasteful. We forget that it's not ours anyway. We're only using what's been given to us. And the message of Jesus is that backwards thinking - giving away and letting go attracts more of what you had. Funny how that works. Think of other areas where this applies. Give something away and see how easily you get on after that. I'm guessing that you'll end up with more than you started.