Late in his career, Steve Jobs famously drove his car without a license plate. According to the head of security at Apple, Jobs discovered a loophole in the California vehicle registration laws. Anyone with a new car had up to six months to get a proper license plate for their new vehicle. During the first six months, however, you could simply drive the vehicle without a license plate. Once he realized this, Jobs arranged a special leasing agreement with his Mercedes dealer so that every six months he would drop off his current car and receive a new Mercedes SL55 AMG to replace it. This meant that he never drove a car older than six months and he never had to go to the Department of Motor Vehicles to get a license plate. Steve Jobs was gaming the system.
And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? The sower sows the word. And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. ” — Mark 4:13-19
Jesus says there are four types of soils and he connects these to our salvation. These soils are our heart and understanding of God’s love, grace, and mercy versus what the world offers. On surface, a no-brainer, yet I find myself at times believing just enough, doing is just enough, and obeying just enough.
- Everybody wants a savior, but nobody wants a Lord.
- Doing just enough to secure your place in heaven but living for self.
- Nobody wants to go to hell, but then again, nobody wants to obey God.
Gaming the system is manipulating the rules for a desired outcome. It’s about taking shortcuts or doing as little as possible yet trying to maximize the results to my advantage. It’s thinking “I’m saved, secured, therefore I can live how I want”. But keeping my soil soft requires constant gardening. The Bible says;
- Maintaining faith requires great effort, a “hard fight.” (Jude 3:5)
- “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46)
- “If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins” (Hebrews 10:26)
How are you caring for your soil? Are you gaming your relationship with Jesus? Eternity is where is you spend your life; today is how you spend your eternity.
Reflection |
What areas of your faithwalk are you gaming the system?