Games People Play – Poker - 26th June 2008

I am, without question, utterly useless at poker. I have never sought to understand this game and how to play it. Most of me doesn’t want to, in case I find myself needing to prove that I can win, so I steer clear of it.

If you want to, you can watch live poker on TV. About as exciting as watching paint dry, and so far as I can tell, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of skill to it, although others in the know tell me there is.

My limited understanding is that some cards are better than others and it is about getting the right combination. When it’s on TV, players wear dark glasses so that others cannot see their full expression – a bit of psychology perhaps. Suffice it to say, the whole process seems completely random to the untrained eye.

Some people live their life as if it were a game of poker. No obvious thought process or strategy behind it, I sometimes struggle to see why people do this and how they manage to achieve anything.

The following verse is one of the few that I know: -

‘’For I know the plans I have for you’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’, Jeremiah 29 v 11

I find this both a huge inspiration and a great comfort. We all go through times when the outcome of certain things is unclear, where there are choices and it isn’t obvious which one to take. God makes it clear that he has a plan for us.

So, today, rest easy in the knowledge that the Christian life is not a game of poker, but that God has a plan for you.

Have a great day.