Ghost Machine

Ghost Machine: When Jon was in Germany he fell for a local Shell Game on the streetside. A Shell Game is a rigged gambling game to swindle over confident suckers out of their money. He bet again and again and lost 2 days worth of spending allowance trying to win back his money. His brother, who was with him tried to explain it was a con trick but he did it anyway. Jon was troubled about the event and what was within him that drove him to keep betting, all the while being blind to the reality that really there was no way to win; there was no prize, only a ‘ghost’. He realised, after waking from a nightmare on the matter, that he fell for the trick because his desire to ‘win big’ at life was greater than his fear of loss, and that was blinding his judgement. Reflecting on the event, he came to somewhat of a revelation: Life is full of ‘Shell Games’; opportunities and chances where we think we can see the ‘big prize’ at the end, but really there’s nothing but a phantom, a lie. “If only I was rich - that would really prove something. Then I’d really be great”. Or “If only I had that girl”, “if only I was the best at my job”,” if only I had a big house”, “loads of friends” etc etc. Our own desires of the flesh make us oblivious to reality as get sucked into these ‘Shell Games’ of life. We get caught up in the game, chasing and grasping for a prize that doesn’t even exist. And every time we play a round and don’t reach the prize, we become frustrated and fixated, chasing and grasping all the harder. We lose touch with reality as we get sucked further and further into the game. And all the time the game is robbing us, draining us of our life. Every dollar, every minute, every thought we spend chasing these ‘ghost’ prizes, we lose the opportunity to have spent that resource on something else – spending time with loved ones, tithing to the poor, praying, helping our neighbour. Chasing the ghost sucks the life out of us more and more until we too become a mere lifeless ghost, part of the ‘ghost machine’ – the lifestyle of chasing phantom ideals. Jon’s takeaway from the experience was this: Avoid meaningless ambitions, chasing after money, power, fame and all other wordly things. Instead keep your feet grounded in God and your eyes focused on the real world as he sees it: sharing real time with people, helping those with real needs, comforting those in real pain and celebrating with those in real joy. It is in these Heavenly things you will find your real prize. The rest is nothing but a shell game. A ‘Ghost Machine”.