A Friendly Game

Awhile back we mentioned the dilemma we faced over what to say when we eliminate an opponent.  We were challenged online for writing "sorry."  So recently we've tried something else.  From a National League of Poker chat....


Dealer:  flopblogger wins Main Pot ($3,345) with Four of a kind, fives
dukerdot:  nice
Me:  Good try friends
Me:  Thanks
Dealer:  flopblogger wins Main Pot ($45) with High card, ace
drummer266:  who said anything about friends
drummer266:  lol
Me:  :-)

We know, we know -- some people take poker very seriously.  Their reactions to losing big pots at the river can make that obvious.  But we try to be friendly in our approach to tournaments.... or should we?

You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God?  Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. - James 4:4

At first reading, you might conclude a Christian is supposed to cut off all contact with non-believers.  In fact, we know a few sects which practice that -- even to the point of children separating completely from unbelieving parents.  But what does "the world" mean, exactly?

Do not love the world or anything in the world.  If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For everything in the world -- the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does -- comes not from the Father but from the world. - I John 2:15-16

We don't have to look far to find items (or even people) which spark sinful cravings and lust in people.  But notice how Jesus explained this in a prayer for His disciples....

My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.  They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. - John 17:15-16

There's a distinction between living in this world and being of this world.  We also think there's a distinction between friendly with "the world" and its sins, compared with the other people living and playing poker around us.  After all, Jesus also said this:

Jesus replied, "Friend, do what you came for."  Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus and arrested him. - Matthew 26:50

Jesus called the betraying disciple Judas Iscariot a "friend," even though the Lord knew a plot against His life was unfolding.

So we consider other poker players "friends," whether they're Christians or not.  But to borrow from Facebook, we consider fellow believers to be "close friends."  How close are you to Jesus - the Savior who desires to be your friend?