#461 – Star Trek Catan

I have some amazing friends who got me Star Trek Catan for my birthday. This weekend I finally got a chance to play it and it was awesome.

I love Star Trek Catan.

I still hate losing.

I thought that playing with starships instead of roads, starbases instead of cities and dilithium instead of wood, would make losing easier. It didn’t. I was in the lead the whole game but lost to another player who had two victory point development cards.

James 1:2-4 says:

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Playing Star Trek Catan isn’t a trial but it definitely tests me and hopefully produces perseverance. I have wrestled with pride and arrogance my whole life. If it weren’t for Christ’s redemptive work I would think that I am the best at everything.

The best blogger.

The best youth pastor.

The best preacher.

The best husband.

The best volleyball player.

None of those are remotely true, but there’s still this arrogant little part of me that thinks they are.

Winning at Star Trek Catan means that I am the best and better than all of my competition. So playing Star Trek Catan stirs up my arrogance and really gets my competitive juices going. If I can win then it really means that I am the best at that arrogant part of me is proved right.

I think Jesus uses losing like the trials described in James. Losing tests my faith and shows me that I’m not the best and that the arrogant voice in my head is wrong. Instead of listening to that arrogant voice I should listen to the voice of God, which calls us to seek a path of humble service.

So instead of viewing losing as losing, I should view it as an opportunity to grow in humility. I don’t know if that will make it any better but it can’t hurt.

I still like winning better, though.

How competitive are you when playing games? What does that say about you?