Lent Day 20: Don't Hate the Player. Hate the Game.

We have all heard the phrase: don't hate the player; hate the game.

It's a sort of urban wisdom that has embedded itself into so many aspects of modern living. In case you don't know what this phrase means, urban dictionary says:

Another way of saying don't blame me; this is how the system works. Or society made me do it.  

I had a hour-long discussion about Miley Cyrus this evening at dinner. Is she vile? Is she a genius? Me personally, I see her as a marketing genius. She's building her brand and making sure to avoid the path her father took. Billy Ray Cyrus had 15 minutes of fame. Miley Cyrus is working hard to ensure she has a few hours. And so she killed her cute, goody-two-shoes image and created this "monster" that gets talked about for an hour. And also, I love that "Wrecking Ball" song. I'd be shocked to find out that every move she's made hasn't been a calculated, well-thought-out moves across the chessboard of stardom. She's a player. Playing the game. And so far...she's winning.

If the game didn't  reward such moves, I think she'd play differently. And so, I think the phrase is most apropos in the case of Miley Cyrus*: don't hate the player; hate the game!

You might think I'd have a hard time weaving such a thought into today's reading. But I actually had this thought this morning, long before the Miley Cyrus discussion at dinner. But since everything is connected...it just made sense the day would go this way:

 Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.

 - 1 John 2:15-17 (NASB)

I grew up hearing this scripture, and I thought it meant this:  

Hate unbelievers. Avoid them at all costs. If you love unbelievers, or get caught up in their lifestyle...you'll likely end up in hell. The end. 

Pure nonsense. But, I thought this way, because I had the wrong definition of "world." 

For me world meant the inhabitants of the earth. human beings. But in John 3:16, we see that God loved that definition of the world. And if we're ambassadors and agents of Christ...we are to love the world in the same way. We are to seek reconciliation of that world with God as peacemakers, sharing the gospel of...umm...love. 

So then, what is this "world" that I'm supposed to hate? I'm supposed to hate the game, and the world is the game. One commentary called the world "human culture as influenced by Satan, the world system." So it's clear to me, that I'm not supposed to hate the player (the inhabitants of this earth), but rather the game (the lustful/prideful human culture that guides play). 

Innocence corrupted...by the game

I look at it like sports. If you watch a certain sport enough. If you come to love it enough. You begin identify with it, sometimes quite strongly. "We" played so bad last night, but "we'll" get them next week. How did you get in the game? You start having favorite players. You create a fantasy team. You dabble in the game yourself on the weekends. Maybe you join a league through the city. Suddenly you're a player! You're caught up in the game. The love of the game! 

But there's nothing wrong with that. Naturally. But spiritually, it's a problem. And sometimes we love the world's ways, and all the world has to offer someone who plays by its rules. But everything the world glorifies (lust and pride), God has abased. The world order, and this "me generation" is temporary and already getting old, but God's "kingdom age" is eternal. 

 So, what game are you playing?

 

*Disclaimer: I am not drawing any conclusions about the state of Miley Cyrus' soul. I don't know her heart, I don't know her life. I only know her branding and a few of her songs.