heads-up seven-up

i spent the morning playing heads up seven up with 35 6th graders.

remember that game? when i was in junior high, heads up seven up was the game to play. everyone who is anyone played that game, and if you didn't, you were a loser. that still seems to be the way it is today. the second those lights go out and those thumbs go up on the air, it was on. no messing around here... serious business was taking place.

i have a confession though...

i was one of those kids. and by "those" kids i mean the ones who were brutally intense and treated the game as if it was a matter of life and death, but secretly i was cheating. people praised me for being so good and for rarely making an incorrect guess as to who tapped my thumb. i remember friends of mine and classmates thinking i had some super sense where i could tell who tapped me by the feeling of their hand. others thought i could tell who the person was because of the way that they breathed over me. and some people even thought that i had some sort of psychic power. i played along with all three. "i'm so good... i know."

i had this special technique that, at the time, no one ever caught onto. i am probably not the only kid who as ever done this, but i felt like i was. the key was to shift; re-adjust in my seat right before everyone started walking around. i never lifted my head or looked up, but my focus stayed on the ground. for a brief moment, i was able to catch a glimpse of the person's shoes who was doing the tapping. i thought i was a genius. after i saw the shoe, i re-adjusted once more.

i'd make my guess, get "oohed" and "ahhed", then it would be my turn to pick someone. it's harder to cheat when you're the person doing the tapping, but i was always sure to walk silently, and change up my tapping styles. throw people for a loop. tap softly, then slam down on the thumb. squeeze it, then pinch it. flick it, hit it. etc.

this morning brought me back to that. i chuckled as i watched these 12 year olds laughing hysterically and running around as if they didn't have a care in the world. all that mattered what who hit their thumb. kids who hated each other came together during the game. any drama that had been taking place between groups vanished for those 45 minutes. anyone who came into the classroom upset, found joy in this game and couldn't help but have a smile painted across their face. what is it about heads up seven up that gets kids so pumped?

i then began thinking about our walk with the Lord... what if we were as passionate about Jesus as kids are about heads up seven up? ridiculous comparison perhaps, but seriously...

if i walk into a room and someone mentions Jesus, why do i not drop all my fears and concerns and get completely hyped just like kids do when they hear the words "heads up seven up"? for the short amount of time that the game takes place, kids are immersed in it and see nothing better about life. i want to be that immersed in Yeshua.

like i mentioned before, i was a huge heads up seven up cheater. i cheated so i could be admired and to seem like i had it all figured out. i think we all play this type of game with the christian life and with the Lord. we try to act like we have all the answers and know exactly how to "win the game" when in fact we're only cheating. we pretend. we put on a happy face when we have found ourselves in depression because we think we'll be loved more if we're happy. we run around doing 80 things at once in order to look like a hero and to be appreciated and admired. it's a complete cop out. we're cheating, and we know it... yet we continue because it makes us feel good.

we do the same thing with God... we peek out thinking that He can't see us cheating. we continue to hide our desire of being... God... and think that He can't see us trying to be Him. since no one else can see us cheating, we automatically think that He cannot either. we're so sly. we think, "look at me God, look how good i am and how i have it all figured out", where in reality He can see right through us. the Father can see that we're acting the way we do and doing the things we do just to be admired.

we get in the habit of not reading our bible, but since we know scripture like that back of our hand, we can still quote verses nonstop in conversations - we then are seen as wise... i'm so great, look at me. we know the right words to say in prayer, even if our heart isn't there... listen to me, i'm so godly. we get involved with 8 different ministries to look good - look at me, i can do it all. we know we're cheating, but we haven't been called out, so that must mean that no one knows... we act like He doesn't know... we cheat and we shove it in His face.

don't be a cheater like me.