#nojokers

PERSPECTIVE MATTERS... Relationship Matters!

“What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” ~ Mark 10:9

Among the most popular of all social games are playing card games, among them poker and blackjack. There has been such a resurgence in the popularity of card games that poker tournaments now appear regularly on cable television sports channels alongside college and professional sports games. Here in Las Vegas where I live, card games are all the rage thanks to legal gambling. Casinos, with a great deal of success, promote their card gaming business by appealing to people’s greed. They have cleverly promoted their card table games increasingly as games of skill rather than chance. But card games are games of chance as well as skill. In fact, your chance of winning at cards is more dependent upon the cards you are dealt by chance than by skill. To be sure, gambling has risks.

Some might say that love is also a game of chance and a gamble as risk is most definitely involved. But success in love and relationships is predominantly dependent on the skills you develop rather than on the cards you draw. Unlike card games, the card you draw in love and relationships is based entirely on the ones you choose. The only similarity is that just like in a card game, you really don’t know what card you really have until you turn it over and examine what you have. Then, upon examination, you hold your cards close for strategic reasons. In cards, the card you draw you must play wisely. In love and relationships, you must choose your card wisely, then after wisely choosing, wisely playing. Whether in cards or in love, play well the hand you have. In cards, you play the hand that you’re dealt. In love and relationships, you play the hand that you chose.

Just like with cards, with love and relationships, only you really know the card you really have. You can bluff those around you, but only you really know what you’re working with. Ladies, if you truly have a King, treat him like one... Play him well and keep him close. Gentlemen, if you truly have yourself a Queen, treat her like one... Play her well and keep her close. Value what you have. This is a winning strategy in love and relationships. And it complies with God’s Word concerning marriage, the pinnacle of all committed human relationships. 

By biblical definition, marriage is an insoluble, committed love relationship between a man and a woman who God presented and joined together. Marriage was purposed by God for one man to be inextricably joined to one woman for one lifetime. Who you choose for yourself apart from God doing the presenting and the joining of the two in becoming one flesh, is indeed a game of chance and gamble that you should avoid at all costs. To embark upon a committed relationship with someone who God didn’t present from His deck and joined to you is to risk being dealt a Joker by the devil that can do more damage than ruin an otherwise winning hand. That Joker could ruin your life! 

Don’t put what God intended to be your glorious destiny at risk playing a game of chance and gambling with a Joker. On the completely rare instance that you have been dealt a King, ladies or a Queen, gentlemen, keep your card close and value what you have. Let nothing and no one come between you. Put no distance between you and your winning hand. Recognize, value and play well the royal hand you were dealt by the Lord from out of the riches of His heavenly storehouse, His glorious bank from which He deals goodness and mercy to follow you all the days of your life (see Ps. 23:6). No one deals better cards than Jehovah Jireh, the Lord God your Provider. Treasure the one you have and forget the lesser cards still left in the deck. You have your Ace, now wisely play your hand like one! Keep your winning card close. Perspective Matters...

Be encouraged, enlightened and enriched daily. Visit our online blog at https://PerspectiveMatters.org/relationship-matters.html