Dominoes

“Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep” — Romans 12:15

Have you ever played dominoes?  The object of the game is to match your pieces (called “bones”) to those played by the other player.  If a player lays down a six dotted domino, you must match it with a six. If you answer all the domino pieces, your pieces will be soon be depleted. Winning the game is not about accumulation, it’s about depletion. The player who is left with no dominoes wins everything.

Like a game of dominoes, Romans 12:15 says we must match how our companion is feeling. Is he glad? Then, we rejoice with him. Is he sad? Then we weep with those who weep. As we answer each emotion of our companion our pieces will be exhausted. But in losing we win.

The beauty is that anyone can play the game. You only need to grasp two essential principles. First, you must clearly understand that at every turn, you must match your companion’s play, laying a six beside his six, a three beside his three, and so on. Second, you must understand that the whole success lies not in hoarding, but in spending. Victory lies in paying out the little ivory tiles. It is better in dominoes to give than to keep. It is better to play a domino with twelve dots than a domino with only two.

Dominoes teaches me to measure my life by loss instead of gain.  As Jesus said, “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it” (Mt. 16:25).