The Opposite Game

 My husband loves to play this game he calls, The Opposite Game.  He has driven many a young person to frustration as he lures them in with his first question.  It goes something like this.

Husband:  "Do you want to play The Opposite Game.

Victim:  How do you play?

Husband:  I'll ask you a question, and your answer will be the opposite.  Do you have a boyfriend?"

Victim:  Fear present as she ponders how to answer.  She timidly replies, "Yes."

Husband:  "Oh....we weren't playing yet...so youuuu have a boyfriend.  You said, Yes."

Victim:  "No.  NO!  I don't!"  Blushing she hangs her head.

Husband:  "Ohhh...we're playing now.  You said, No, so that means yes.  You have a boyfriend."

Victim:  "Yes?  No?  Are we play The Opposite Game right now?"

The Opposite Game can get pretty confusing and frustrating as the victim tries to figure out what in the world is going on.

Come to think of it, my husband wasn't the first one to play The Opposite Game--God was.  

He said this, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor, and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you this: Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you. In this way you show that you are children of your Father in heaven. He makes his sun rise on people whether they are good or evil. He lets rain fall on them whether they are just or unjust.  Matthew 5:43-45 (GW)

God has a way of pulling all of us into His own version of The Opposite Game.  His Word tells us to love our enemies...even to pray for them.  To the world, this concept is the most opposite thing they've ever heard of.

Who would love an enemy and who would be crazy enough to pray for someone who wants to do them harm?

Oh, wait...I know this one--Christians.

It's Christians who are suppose to act like that...and I'm not playing The Opposite Game.