The World's Oldest "Games"

The world’s oldest "games" date back to the first man and the first woman.  And the games they played then are still being played today!

The first is “Hide and Seek”.  But calling it a game, as it was “played” that first time, is rather disingenuous.  It all started like this:  Adam and Eve were created by God and He told them to not do one specific thing. But, as you might have guessed already, they went ahead and did that one thing.  As a result of disobeying God, they felt guilt and shame.  And rather than going to God and ‘fessing up, they actually tried to hide from God. 

Here’s the account as recorded for us:  Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.  But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”  (Gen 3:8-9)

This was really not a game, it was actually life at its worst!  Furthermore, God really wasn’t trying to find them, He knew exactly where they were and why they were there.  But, in a sense, God “played along” with their little game because He wanted them to realize where they were and why they were there.

All that leads to the second game, “The Blame Game”.  See how it was “played” then:

And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”   The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”  (Gen 3:11-12). 

Ouch, blame number one, which was closely followed by blame number two:

Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”  The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”  (Gen 3:13)

It’s also so very disingenuous to call “The Blame Game” a game.  When this “game” is played, there are no winners, only losers.  And the prize for losing is a trophy filled with grief, pain and heartache!

While “Hide and Seek” can be a fun game when played under the right circumstances, the circumstances surrounding the first time it was played were anything but “right” and we’ve felt the consequences ever since.

But on the bright side, whether we are hiding or lost, God seeks us because He loves us and He finds us because He always knows just where we are!