The games we play

Do you want to take part in a supermarket game? In this true story, a guy was chosen to participate in a promotional game for a chance to win a lot of prizes. He was coached on its mechanics and was given five minutes to fill up a cart with any item he liked.

He and his wife decided to choose the more expensive items. The husband began getting nervous when he saw a crowd gather to watch him play the game. He rushed from aisle to aisle to grab the items he wanted as his wife shouted in the background.

Was he able to bring home all the goods? Nope. The supermarket told him that he was allowed to bring home goods with a cumulative value of “only” P5,000—then, they removed the rest. Would he join the game again? No way, he thought. He felt duped, because he wasn’t told all the facts, and he suffered terrible pressure and anxiety!

This story is as much ours as it is his: We go through life’s “aisles” picking items that we think will make us happy. But, our struggle to accumulate expensive possessions doesn’t guarantee happiness and fulfillment. When our time comes, we’ll have to leave everything behind.

Lessons learned: Don’t get duped. Don’t focus on what’s temporary and perishable. Instead, seek the valuable things you can bring beyond death, like spiritual love.

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