Chess, Relationships and The Three Takes

Recently, I've been devouring all the Max Lucado books I can get my hands on. Kudos to the Mississauga Library System for stocking so many! (Although I don't really read the discussion questions, I just skim. Does that make me a bad person? :) )

On the up side, his books have sparked like-minded thoughts in me. That is to say, I've begun to see my whole life as one giant devotional. Things I hear, see, say or think about now suddenly reveal some truth, a sudden, "whoa!" that makes my brain stop in its tracks. I can't really explain it, and I don't ALWAYS see it, but after bombing my brain with allegories for the past 2 weeks or so, well, this is what I get.

I could almost write a mini-book about this particular one. Do your relationships look like a pro chess game? Because if they do, you have a problem. As it is the hallmark of good, bad, and ugly devotionals, I actually have a set of comparisons that go together. Let's call them the 3 Takes.

In a professional chess match, the players:

1) Take turns

2) Take time

3) Take each other down

Taking turns: One player cannot move until his opponent does, pushing the button on their side of the time clock to signify their turn is over. Do you ever say, "I reached out to you once, but I'm not going to do anything else until I see you respond."? (Yes.) Sometimes we have to keep pushing on, even when we don't see any results. Just keep loving. Just keep giving. Just keep serving. Just keep praying. Maybe this is a test. Are you in it for the long haul, or is this just a one-time thing?

Taking time: As far as I know, only the best (or the stupidest) players move their pieces in rapid-fire procession. Chess is awful boring to watch when the guy just sits there and sits there. Is he trying to make the best move possible or just procrastinating to psyche out his opponent? Especially if the move is so obvious it's ridiculous. (Or I would if I knew anything about chess beyond the fact that it's a close relative of checkers.) If you're sitting on a move that couldn't be more clear, I've got one question for you; why? It's like a guy who comes to a one-way-street and waits for somebody to build a crossroads. (been there, done that)

Take each other down: You're not playing to tie in chess. You're playing to win. But if you win, the other player must, by default, lose. Now obviously we can't all have what we want, but is victory always the name of your game? Do you always have to have the last word or the best idea? (Mea culpa....well, not always....) We can't all be right, but we win when we unite. We're supposed to build up, not tear down.

Besides Eph 4:29, can anyone think of good scripture examples for this?