On Monopoly

I went to a church in Winnipeg today and the pastor at that church made a very interesting analogy connecting Monopoly to Life. The topic of the message was based on the passage from Matthew where Jesus tells the people to store up treasures in heaven instead of on earth. The analogy to Monopoly went something like this:

First of all, when playing the game of Monopoly, the game can go on and on and we might not be paying very close attention to what's happening. There are only two instances that will make us sit up and pay attention: when it's our turn and when someone lands on our spot. It's only natural for us to pay attention when we have an investment in something.

Likewise with life. Those places in which we have investments (monetary or otherwise), we also have interest. That's what Jesus is talking about when he tells us that our hearts will be wherever our treasure lies.

But that's not where the analogy ended.

The pastor went on to say that as the game of Monopoly progresses, eventually one player has bankrupted everyone else and has won the game (although when I play we usually don't get that far). At that point, that person has control of everything in the Monopoly game. But then, everything just gets put back in the box and placed on the shelf. Whatever was gained or lost during the game no longer matters. The only thing that's left is the other people who were playing.

Similarly, in life, whatever is gained or lost here on earth no longer matters when life is over. Only those things that had to do with other people (and God) matter anymore. Only two things last forever: the word and the spirits (the spirits include God and ourselves). Everything else is packed away and forgotten.

How this applies to Serbia I don't know, but I thought it was an interesting analogy, so I wrote it in anyway.

30 days to go.