Lessons from the Office Game

Like I said last week, my wife and I are the proud owners of “The Office” Board Game.  We LOVE this show.  We both memorize all the quotes and use them profusely during the day in any and all circumstances.

There are two things you should know about me for you to understand what is going on in me while I play these games:

#1) I am an internal processor

#2) I am competitive

When you combine those two things you will understand how I am when I play a board game.  I take the game far too seriously (no I do not get obnoxious and talk trash) it is all going on inside of me.

In the game there are times when you reach the end (Michael’s Office) but unless you have twenty “Schrute Bucks” Dwight will not let you in and you have to go back to another department.  This happened to me, and yes it may sound fun but when I play these games any setback I feel as a personal blow.

To be honest with you, I win those types of games more often than Megan (my wife) does, and I win more often than most people do.  However, I do not enjoy my victories as much as Megan or others enjoy their defeats.  I feel stressed out the entire time while Megan (despite the fact she lost) laughs, giggles, and has fun with it.  She is always the one who says, “Let’s play again”  but most times I am reluctant to do so.  I do enjoy playing the game, however my attachment makes it more stressful than fun for me sometimes.

Yes you guessed it, this fits in perfectly to how we deal with our money.

Let me first just ask a question that I will revisit:  Who is the real winner when me and Megan play the game?

Megan

Of course she is!  Even though she didn’t “win the game” that is not the point of The Office Board Game.  The point is to have fun.

Many of us view and handle our money the same way I play these board games.  Our attachment to it ends up making it more stressful on us.  Because of this, every financial setback we take as a personal blow and whenever we have success (victories) we cannot enjoy them.

The point of life is NOT to get as much money as possible.

Let me repeat that, your purpose on this earth is to not “win the game” by collecting the most money.

Too many people have tried to find satisfaction in that and have failed miserably.  If money was the key to joy, Hollywood would be the happiest place on earth.  Rather than us hearing about constant addictions to drugs, alcohol, stories of suicide, loneliness.   Money is not the point of life (or to keep the analogy going, “the game”).

It is important that we understand that.

I asked you before who was the real winner between me & Meg in our board game.

• I won the game, but was stressed out the entire time

• She lost, but had fun the entire time

The correct answer is: The point of the game is to have fun – she got the point and I didn’t.
Some of us will spend our whole lives stressed out and make money an idol while we missed the whole point of how we should have been living (playing).

Ecclesiastes 1: “What does man gain from all his labor at which he toils under the sun?”

We have all heard the “you will never see a hearse pulling a trailer” statement.

But it is true.

There is a trap that many fall into.  Matthew 6 says “No one can serve two masters he will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other you cannot serve both God and money.”

Money makes a bad master and I do not need to make a compelling argument to show you that is true.  All of us have seen that money can’t be the purpose of our lives and it absolutely does not bring joy.

A little homework for you today.  If you are unsure, pray about who your master really is.

What do we spend our time on?
What consumes us?
What matters most to us?