Austin Powers and World Domination
The other night while flipping through the channels I stumbled into the middle of an Austin Powers movie. Not entertainment that I would recommend, but interesting nonetheless. I was particularly intriqued by a scene involving the bad guy, Dr. Evil, and his right hand man. In the scene, Evil's man turned against him! He made a statement which, in my fuzzy memory of the scene said something to the effect of, "Evil, you could have had gobs of money and a great company, but all you could focus on was world domination". Like, what an idiot, right?
Today, J. was telling me about a world domination game that he is playing on-line with the guys at work. He was talking about alliances, and he explained to me how he was manipulating the others into serving his purposes, I know the drill, I've played these type of games before. You ally with others in order to fight off the greater threats and then finish off your allies to win the game.
What's scary is the sobering thought that often I live my life in this same manner. There is an inner evil in me, that goes beyond games. (Not that I'm trying to take over the world, understand)
The point I'm trying to make is that the reason these games are so intertaining, and sometimes frustrating and all-consuming is because there is a part of all of us that wants to be powerful and in control. That sin nature that seeks to control, and manipulate disregarding others. They are merely competitors! It's performance that matters, the only investment made in other people is for the benefit of ourselves.
Interestingly, this is not the example set out for us by Christ. The king of kings, and the only person who will reign forever was concerned about others asking nothing in return. He cared not what these people had to offer, He simply loved them.
How contrary to the compettitive way that I live my life, and very sobering (humbling) indeed!
So, the next time you sit down to a game of Risk, Diplomacy, or Civilization, take a moment to evaluate how you are living your life. Are you daily following Christ's example of serving others? or are you living life in the same manner that you play your strategy games?
After this self-calibration... Do your best to dominate the world.
"What are we going to do tonight, Brain?"
"The same thing we do every night, pinky, try to take over the world!" (Pinky and the Brain)
Today, J. was telling me about a world domination game that he is playing on-line with the guys at work. He was talking about alliances, and he explained to me how he was manipulating the others into serving his purposes, I know the drill, I've played these type of games before. You ally with others in order to fight off the greater threats and then finish off your allies to win the game.
What's scary is the sobering thought that often I live my life in this same manner. There is an inner evil in me, that goes beyond games. (Not that I'm trying to take over the world, understand)
The point I'm trying to make is that the reason these games are so intertaining, and sometimes frustrating and all-consuming is because there is a part of all of us that wants to be powerful and in control. That sin nature that seeks to control, and manipulate disregarding others. They are merely competitors! It's performance that matters, the only investment made in other people is for the benefit of ourselves.
Interestingly, this is not the example set out for us by Christ. The king of kings, and the only person who will reign forever was concerned about others asking nothing in return. He cared not what these people had to offer, He simply loved them.
How contrary to the compettitive way that I live my life, and very sobering (humbling) indeed!
So, the next time you sit down to a game of Risk, Diplomacy, or Civilization, take a moment to evaluate how you are living your life. Are you daily following Christ's example of serving others? or are you living life in the same manner that you play your strategy games?
After this self-calibration... Do your best to dominate the world.
"What are we going to do tonight, Brain?"
"The same thing we do every night, pinky, try to take over the world!" (Pinky and the Brain)
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