Matthew 23:2 "...The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat: 3 All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. 4 For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers."In essence they know all the Laws of Moses, know to do them, expect others to obey, but they don't do those things themselves. In other words, they "Play Games with God"!
On his deathbed, a friend spied W.C. Fields on his deathbed reading a bible. When queried "I thought you were an atheist?", he responded "I am, but was just looking for a loophole!" That's what Pharisees do. They want others to obey to the "T", but themselves seek to find an escape clause in God's commands.
Judaism is much about finding loopholes, and if not found, they create them! Several years back the Jewish community petitioned West Palm Beach, Florida to string a wire around the city perimeter. Why? It seems that Jews can do more in their homes on the Sabbath than they can do outside it. Therefore, by their reasoning, West Palm Beach, enclosed by a loop of wire, will be defined as their home. That loop of wire is the loop hole they found to circumvent their own understanding of God's will!
Catholics allow marriage annulment. Annulment is a legal procedure recognized by the Catholic Church that invalidates the original marriage document and its associated vows. It's not divorce because it makes the marriage "as if it never happened". There is one problem with this type of thinking: IT DID HAPPEN! Catholics do not allow divorced people to participate in the church sacraments nor to marry in the church. They get around this by marriage annulment. This is "Playing Games with God!
"How so?" you ask.
Matthew 19:5 "And (Jesus) said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? 6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. 7 They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away? 8 He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so."
Jesus said a lot about marriage here:
- It is ordained by God and as such is a holy institution.
- They were two entities, but upon marriage, become one entity under God.
- The marriage partners shall "cleave" (be loyal and unwavering) with one another.
- They shall be mutually dependent and not count on others, especially parents.
- No person has the authority to break the marriage covenant because it's not of man, but of God.
- Divorce was never ordained by God.
- Divorce is no longer an option and divorce is a consequence of sin. Therefore divorce is contrary to God's will, although at one time he had grace to overlook it.
Annulment of marriages is "Playing Games with God". It's play-acting that the marriage never happened when all rational people at the wedding ceremony heard the promises, vows and commitment from both. Annulment means that two people lied at their wedding ceremony. They said "for better, for worse" when they only meant "the better". Since the "worse" is reality, they say they never meant what they promised!
The job of the religious leader is to do the will of God. He's not to be a tool of the devil. Divorce is in defiance of God's will, and is hence of the devil. Annulment is acting as if divorce is not happening. It's congruent with the fetal stage of birth. Evil people claim that the fetus is not human, so to terminate their existence is inconsequential! In marriage, the same game is played: since the joining together was a mere facade, the marriage never happened! Both of these strategies are "Playing Games with God" and are reprehensible!
The church is part of the game-playing. They turn an ignorant eye to the wedding vows and admit "Since I wasn't taking these two seriously, they were never married." The partners think "Since I never meant what I vowed, I was never married!" They and everyone who were at the wedding were "Playing Games with God"!
Since "What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder." is God's command, and priests who annul marriages, are doing "what God joined together us priests are putting asunder". The church, then, is defying God! They "Play Games with God" by saying "I'm not putting a marriage asunder because it was all a facade anyway!" They fail to remember that they were there facilitating the original marriage, or at least one in authority was.
The church "Plays Games with God", not just with marriage, but with sin in general. They allow women to be ministers in defiance of God, they let known sinners lead church ministries, they allow unrepentant fornicators and adulteries to be church members and now they even ordain homosexual marriage and allow unrepentant homosexuals to be part of the church. Churches "Play Games with God" because if they failed to play the game, sinners would find other churches who will! There are many of them out there and John the Beloved, called those churches "whores". They, as brides of Christ, commit adultery with the forces of evil. They "Play Games with God", but God is not a game-player, nor is he a fool!
Some believe that God is so full of grace that he will in the end overlook the game-players. This in itself is "Playing Games with God" because that's not what he says he will do. Don't act like God is a liar because God is truth. He will do what he says, no games about it!
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