The Rigged Game

“You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified.  I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard?  Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?  Have you experienced so much in vain—if it really was in vain?  So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard?  So also Abraham ‘believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.’

Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham.  Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: ‘All nations will be blessed through you.’  So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.’  Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because ‘the righteous will live by faith.’  The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, it says, ‘The person who does these things will live by them.’  Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.’  He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.” (Galatians 3:1-14 NIV)

My wife and I watched the guy at the State Fair hand over dollar bill after dollar bill.  You could tell he believed himself to be a good shooter and the experience of a near-miss messed with his mind and his pride. He was convinced he could make the basketball go in if given one more opportunity.  The game operator was more than happy to give it to him. And with each miss, he handed over more cash for another chance.  As with so many before him and after him, the shots never went in.  A little sign explained why: “Rims not regulation.”  In essence, the game was rigged.  

Pride is the key element in the carnival game industry’s strategy to make money.  And they make lots of it because there is no shortage of pride on a fair midway.  So many can think they can win because, well, they’re good enough to win.  What so many don’t realize is most of these games are rigged—not in an illegal way, but tweaked just enough to make them look winnable.  But the wads of cash in each game operator’s hand tell you who the real winner is.

As we watched people participate in these games, I was reminded of this passage.  The Galatians thought they could win the righteousness game.  They thought they were good enough.  None of this grace stuff for them!  They were going to earn their way.  You can just feel their pride in Paul’s challenge to them.  What they failed to understand was that game, too, was essentially rigged.   No matter how good we think we are or can be, we can never win.  As Paul later explains, this game was set up for us to fail so then we would turn to Jesus (vss. 23-25).  It is only He who can win at this game.

But as with carnival games and gambling, though they are rigged against us, our pride sees a way in which we can win.  So we keep trying and losing.  “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Paul tells the Romans.  Therefore, the truth of the matter is that no one is good or can be good apart from Jesus.  

The righteousness game will always be yours to lose if you try to play it on your own.  So, today, stop trying to win it.  Swallow your pride, walk away, and turn to Jesus. It is only through Him that you can win.  

© Jim Musser 2015