We’ve Been Played!

 

INSIDE JOKE!!

 

I remember as a kid, we loved playing harmless jokes on our friends and family.  One time in Germany, my sister and I were staying at a friend’s house during the snowy season.  It was absolutely beautiful! The snow completely covered the ground, you could step in it and it would go almost to your knees!  Being from Texas, it was cool to see so much snow while standing in a warm house.  

We opened the front door to get the fresh feel of cool air in our face.  Suddenly I said “Ooh, let’s run out barefoot in the snow, touch the fence and come back!”  I already knew what I had in mind, but to gather their confidence, I also said, “I’ll go first!”  So I slipped my shoes off and ran out into the snow!

Though the crunchy coldness was exhilarating and different, it was not compared to what I had in mind.  I went the few feet to the fence, touched it and quickly ran back in the house, dancing and shrieking about how neat if felt.  Now they were ready to do the same.  They slipped off their shoes, and ran towards the fence in the snow…

BAM!  I closed the door.

CLICK.  I locked it.

Perfectly executed.  I could see their images through the bubble glass on the front door.  They were jumping, laughing and screaming all at the same time.  I didn’t leave them outside too long, since I always keep the thought of ‘what if it was me?’ in the back of my mind.  So I let them in and we had a serious laugh as we dried our feet and continued our evening. 

 A favorite joke of mine was always the simple tap on the shoulder of someone near me.  I tap opposite of where I am, causing someone to look the other way.  Sometimes they would turn back to me, knowing I was the only one there and we would have a harmless laugh.  Other times, some unsuspecting bystander would get a weird look from my target.  It would take a little longer for them to realize it was me and not the unassuming stranger.  I am much better now with age, but at one time, I had it bad.   Always the jokester, but always harmless.

WE’VE BEEN PLAYED.

It is not a good feeling to be played.  Especially by someone who means you no good.   Let’s get to the point.  My friend, we are being played.  The enemy –Satan has been playing us for quite a while now.  You would think with all the word we have available to us today, and the spiritual awareness, we would know his works.     

 Somehow the devil has made us believe that we are each other’s enemy, not him.  He keeps tapping us on our shoulder and has us to look at each other as if we are ready to fight.  While all along, he sits in the darkness hidden. We on the other hand are in the open taking blows at each other. 

2 Corinthian 2:11

Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.

 

WE’VE BEEN PLAYED.

 
Crime and ignorance is not determined by race.

All of us have someone in our race that we wish was not there. Someone who takes matters in their own hands or says something, does something or simply opens their mouth as if they speak for all of us.  We wish they didn’t share our skin color because somehow we get the look after being tapped. 

This is not just a black thing, it is a people thing, it affects every race.   Whether it is young people who shoot up a school and kill classmates, a military man who shoots up a base, a man who takes 3 young ladies hostage for a decade, a group of young teens that smash and grab, a man who crashes a plane into a mountain, a drive by shooting, a child rapist or someone who steals identity by hacking stores.  It is even seen with a group of terrorists that behead people basically for sport or to make a point.

Every culture has someone that we wish didn’t look like they were part of us or representing us. If you are a person who has worked hard for what you have and are not looking for handouts, or if you know the sacrifice others have made to give you freedoms and you try to treat people right, regardless to your upbringing;  you don’t want your reputation in someone else’s hand.  Especially not someone motivated by the devil.

Yet somehow, the enemy has caused us to look at each other instead of him.  We see the riots in various cities and the peaceful protesters are not seen. Officers who have made deadly choices overshadow those who risk their lives every day truly protecting their community.  Every day we hear the news. No matter where you hear it, who you see deliver it or even if it is a simple conversation at work or a post on social media, we have opinions based not on the fact that we have allowed the world to run amuck all in the name of tolerance and freedom, but based on the last thing that we saw in the news that clouded our perspective.

BUT WE’VE BEEN PLAYED.

When we hear the news of a young man that shoots and kills a couple, their son and a housekeeper some look at an entire race instead of looking at the real enemy.  Our nation is once again looking at each other as if an entire race tapped their shoulder.

Now we have in our news a church that was shot up by a young man with issues provoked by Satan.  Instead of realizing he made a choice separate from most Americans, we are ready again to look into the face of an unassuming stranger as if it was them that tapped our shoulder. 

 There is a member at my church who has picked up on my “joke”, so now he taps my shoulder on occasion, but because I know he is nearby, I don’t turn around.  I can often turn towards him as he walks away.  The game doesn't work when you know who is around.    Hopefully as a nation especially the church, we will remember our enemy is standing in the darkness and we will not turn on each other. 

Hopefully we will open our eyes and realize it is not as simply as black and white……

We’ve been played.