Years ago my wife and I were invited to a “Monopoly” party. When I was a kid, I loved the game. I loved playing with the money. It made me feel rich! Besides, where else can you get $1500 for doing absolutely nothing?! I loved buying and selling. It’s fun to have hotels on Broadway and have someone land on it toward the end of the game. You can be a “robber baron” buying railroads and utilities. But up until that invitation to a Monopoly party, I had never played the game to the bitter end.

    Our host was a self-proclaimed “World Monopoly Champion”. His wife dutifully endured his annual Monopoly parties for a number of years. He decorated extravagantly. Little colored Monopoly lights with each individual bulb in the shape of a little dog, or shoe or race car were strung across the room. There were Monopoly paper plates and napkins. I was impressed.

That evening I played Monopoly like I play Bridge. I don’t really take Bridge seriously. I never really understood adding up the number of “points” in my hand.  I don’t like the pressure of playing a hand while my partner watches, no judges me. I don’t know what makes up a “rubber”. If I’m on the winning team, fine. If not,  fine, too. I play for the social aspects.

As this game of Monopoly progressed one player after another dropped out, having run out of money. By the time there were only two of us–the host and myself–I was bored, ready to be done, and do more serious socializing.  I asked the host if he just wanted to call it quits. 

“Do you concede?!” he said a little too excitedly. Now he awakened the dorment primal beast within me.

“No”, I replied. We played on…and on and on for this was a battle to the Monopoly death, mano y mano. A half an hour or an hour later Eventually he was mortgaged to the hilt and out of money. I won. I strutted into the kitchen like a banty rooster and crowed, “Guess who won?” Meeeee! Bam!” 

His wife was surprised, as was everyone else who knew my competitor well. He had never lost at Monopoly. And here’s the ultimate kicker, we moved out of the community before the next annual Monopoly Championship of the World event was held.  Like Rocky Marcinio, I retired as the undefeated Monopoly champion of the world! 

I’ve pondered over the years about sending him a belt buckle with Monopoly pieces glued into it.

In the book, When the Game Is Over: It All Goes Back in the Box minister and author John Ortberg wrote about the life lessons that he learned playing Monopoly with his grandmother. The most important lesson was this: Remember, when the game is over, everything goes back into the box.

I do not know if God has a Plan for our lives or not. But I do believe that God has a Purpose for each of us. The Westminster Divines said it best: our Purpose is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.

Life is like a game of Monopoly. The question each one of us must ask is this: “How am I going to play the game? I decided to play the game to the glory of God. How about you?