Just One Game of Chess
Life is a chess game. It is a battle. Either, we plan our moves meticulously and wait for the right time to strike. Or, we show off our greatest weapons, our queens, to terrorize our opponents. Or, we gamble and hope that fate has something great in store for us. Whether we plan our attacks, or we inflict fear to our enemies or we take risks, our dream to achieve is to win. That is life – a chess game.
Winning a game of chess is impossible if you only have one piece – the king of course. In one’s chess game, he is the king and he alone cannot survive. He must trust his controlling player because the king does not control the game; the player does. He must also take risks, utilize chances and find opportunities as the pieces move across the board. Finally, he must rely on his controlled hatred which may strengthen his will to win over his opponent. Trusting, being cunning and hating are needed to win. That is why a person alone cannot survive.
Life is a chess game. In life, we are in a battle. Sometimes, we lean our lives to the player who plans every change on the chess board. Or at times, we take risks and seize advantage on what fate brings. Or often, we are aggressive because our hatred strengthens our desire to survive. Strong faith, strange fate and stark but controlled hate might save us from damnation. Our faith, fate and hatred can spell victory.
Ben-hur: A Tale of Christ stars a “king”, Judah Ben-hur, who is winning in his chess game. From royalty, to slavery and royalty, his faith, fate and hatred did not falter. From being a noble-blood to being a prisoner, his faith to God and his people remain, although not completely, intact. His unusual fate lifts him from almost every danger. His hatred towards his nemesis is overwhelmingly strong that it urges him to really win. Like a noble king in a chess game, Judah Ben-hur becomes the victor because of his faith, fate and hatred.
Ironically, Judah Ben-hur’s faith to God and to his people is tremendously strong during his hardships as an oarsman but falters a little when his situation is better. In the end, though, he has restored his faith. Generally, his faith is strong. First, he refuses to give the names of the Jewish rebels to his best friend, Messalah. Near the end, the strength of his faith radiates when he carried his leper sister to Jesus to be healed together with his mother. On one account, as a dehydrated prisoner, Ben-hur marches along Jerusalem and he drinks from the water Jesus has given him. These accounts exemplify the strong faith of Ben-hur.
Ben-hur’s strong faith saved him from total destruction. Without his faith, he would not be the winner. If he babbled the names of the rebels, his people would have been imprisoned and punished. If he did not believed that Jesus can heal his mother and sister, they would have not been healed. If he refused to drink the water of Jesus, his will to win would have been weakened. If his faith is lost entirely, he would have been destroyed. His strong faith made him strong and he won.
Aside from his strong faith, Ben-hur is saved because of his strange fate. His fate is not of the ordinary. Once, he was a man of robes and jewels and next, he is a prisoner with only a patch of old cloth and then, he ended up with his robes becoming purple. He was first a respected noble, then a prisoner, then a savior, then a royal-blood, then a charioteer and then a believer. Not everyone could be a noble, then turns out a prisoner, then a savior, then a royal-blood, then a charioteer and finally a believer. However, Ben-hur is such. His fate is odd.
For some reason, fate is on Ben-hur’s side. All the time, it seems as though fate is making things easier for Ben-hur. Of all the places they could pass, why did they go by where Jesus lives? Also, without knowing, he wandered into a place and met a sheik who is in need of a charioteer. Incidentally, Esther passed by the people who are listening to Jesus’ sermon. Those things do not happen normally; those are coincidences. Indeed, Ben-hur’s fate is strange.
Ben-hur’s strange fate saved him. It helped him overcome his obstacles. Had Ben-hur and the other prisoners not passed by Jesus, Ben-hur would have not satisfied his thirst physically and spiritually. Had Ben-hur not met the sheik, he would have been unable to win the chariot race. Had Esther not wandered where Jesus was giving His sermon, Ben-hur’s mother and sister would not have been healed. His quenching of his thirst, the rejuvenation of his hope, winning the race and the healing of his mother and sister made him the winner. His fate made him win.
Along with Judah Ben-hur’s faith and fate, his stark hatred also saved him. Hatred alone, though, did not save him. What saved him is that his hatred is controlled by his faith and it was in the right moment. His hatred was so severe that it urged him to win. It kept him focused towards his goal. His hatred gave him all the reasons to continue struggling and never give up. Controlled by faith and complemented by fate, his hatred made him the winner.
Judah Ben-hur’s hatred saved him because it was overwhelmingly strong and reasonable. Messalah gave Ben-hur all the reason to hate him. His greediness and pride angered Ben-hur. His unreasonable condemnation of Ben-hur’s family angered Judah. His vengeful heart made Ben-hur seek revenge. Messalah hated Ben-hur, too, but unlike him, Ben-hur’s hatred is reasonable. Hatred coupled with reasons is a strong weapon in achieving victory.
With only his faith and fate, Ben-hur would not survive. He needed his controlled hatred to win. As he watched his place dominated by Romans, his hatred kept him focused on where to stand. As he rowed the ship as a prisoner, his hatred urges him to keep on going. As he drove the four horses along the elliptical arena, his hatred kept squealing at him to never to give up. Without his hatred he would not have been focused, strong and hopeful. His faith-controlled and fate-complemented hatred made him win.
Judah Ben-hur became the victor because of his strong faith, strange fate and stark hate. These three made him strong, cunning and focused. His faith made him hopeful he would win. His strange fate challenges him to be cunning to find opportunities in every moment of his life. His hatred made him focused towards his goal and he never dashed astray. All throughout, his faith, fate and hatred never let him down. These three made him the victor of his chess game.
Winning his chess game would have been impossible if he only struggled alone. In his own chess game, he is the king and the king alone versus sixteen other pieces could never win. Ben-hur won because he trusted his controlling player and admits that he does not control the game. He also took risks, utilized chances and found opportunities as the face of the chess board changes. He, further, relied on his controlled hatred which gave him will to win. By trusting, being cunning and hating, he defeated his enemy. This is how Ben-hur won.
Indeed, life is a chess game. It is only between winning and losing. To win, one must plan his moves scrupulously and when the right time comes, strike. One must inflict terror to his enemy by being aggressive. Finally, one must also gamble and take risks to win. One must be like Ben-hur. Because no matter how we deny it or how we hide it, our greatest desire is to win – checkmate.
Winning a game of chess is impossible if you only have one piece – the king of course. In one’s chess game, he is the king and he alone cannot survive. He must trust his controlling player because the king does not control the game; the player does. He must also take risks, utilize chances and find opportunities as the pieces move across the board. Finally, he must rely on his controlled hatred which may strengthen his will to win over his opponent. Trusting, being cunning and hating are needed to win. That is why a person alone cannot survive.
Life is a chess game. In life, we are in a battle. Sometimes, we lean our lives to the player who plans every change on the chess board. Or at times, we take risks and seize advantage on what fate brings. Or often, we are aggressive because our hatred strengthens our desire to survive. Strong faith, strange fate and stark but controlled hate might save us from damnation. Our faith, fate and hatred can spell victory.
Ben-hur: A Tale of Christ stars a “king”, Judah Ben-hur, who is winning in his chess game. From royalty, to slavery and royalty, his faith, fate and hatred did not falter. From being a noble-blood to being a prisoner, his faith to God and his people remain, although not completely, intact. His unusual fate lifts him from almost every danger. His hatred towards his nemesis is overwhelmingly strong that it urges him to really win. Like a noble king in a chess game, Judah Ben-hur becomes the victor because of his faith, fate and hatred.
Ironically, Judah Ben-hur’s faith to God and to his people is tremendously strong during his hardships as an oarsman but falters a little when his situation is better. In the end, though, he has restored his faith. Generally, his faith is strong. First, he refuses to give the names of the Jewish rebels to his best friend, Messalah. Near the end, the strength of his faith radiates when he carried his leper sister to Jesus to be healed together with his mother. On one account, as a dehydrated prisoner, Ben-hur marches along Jerusalem and he drinks from the water Jesus has given him. These accounts exemplify the strong faith of Ben-hur.
Ben-hur’s strong faith saved him from total destruction. Without his faith, he would not be the winner. If he babbled the names of the rebels, his people would have been imprisoned and punished. If he did not believed that Jesus can heal his mother and sister, they would have not been healed. If he refused to drink the water of Jesus, his will to win would have been weakened. If his faith is lost entirely, he would have been destroyed. His strong faith made him strong and he won.
Aside from his strong faith, Ben-hur is saved because of his strange fate. His fate is not of the ordinary. Once, he was a man of robes and jewels and next, he is a prisoner with only a patch of old cloth and then, he ended up with his robes becoming purple. He was first a respected noble, then a prisoner, then a savior, then a royal-blood, then a charioteer and then a believer. Not everyone could be a noble, then turns out a prisoner, then a savior, then a royal-blood, then a charioteer and finally a believer. However, Ben-hur is such. His fate is odd.
For some reason, fate is on Ben-hur’s side. All the time, it seems as though fate is making things easier for Ben-hur. Of all the places they could pass, why did they go by where Jesus lives? Also, without knowing, he wandered into a place and met a sheik who is in need of a charioteer. Incidentally, Esther passed by the people who are listening to Jesus’ sermon. Those things do not happen normally; those are coincidences. Indeed, Ben-hur’s fate is strange.
Ben-hur’s strange fate saved him. It helped him overcome his obstacles. Had Ben-hur and the other prisoners not passed by Jesus, Ben-hur would have not satisfied his thirst physically and spiritually. Had Ben-hur not met the sheik, he would have been unable to win the chariot race. Had Esther not wandered where Jesus was giving His sermon, Ben-hur’s mother and sister would not have been healed. His quenching of his thirst, the rejuvenation of his hope, winning the race and the healing of his mother and sister made him the winner. His fate made him win.
Along with Judah Ben-hur’s faith and fate, his stark hatred also saved him. Hatred alone, though, did not save him. What saved him is that his hatred is controlled by his faith and it was in the right moment. His hatred was so severe that it urged him to win. It kept him focused towards his goal. His hatred gave him all the reasons to continue struggling and never give up. Controlled by faith and complemented by fate, his hatred made him the winner.
Judah Ben-hur’s hatred saved him because it was overwhelmingly strong and reasonable. Messalah gave Ben-hur all the reason to hate him. His greediness and pride angered Ben-hur. His unreasonable condemnation of Ben-hur’s family angered Judah. His vengeful heart made Ben-hur seek revenge. Messalah hated Ben-hur, too, but unlike him, Ben-hur’s hatred is reasonable. Hatred coupled with reasons is a strong weapon in achieving victory.
With only his faith and fate, Ben-hur would not survive. He needed his controlled hatred to win. As he watched his place dominated by Romans, his hatred kept him focused on where to stand. As he rowed the ship as a prisoner, his hatred urges him to keep on going. As he drove the four horses along the elliptical arena, his hatred kept squealing at him to never to give up. Without his hatred he would not have been focused, strong and hopeful. His faith-controlled and fate-complemented hatred made him win.
Judah Ben-hur became the victor because of his strong faith, strange fate and stark hate. These three made him strong, cunning and focused. His faith made him hopeful he would win. His strange fate challenges him to be cunning to find opportunities in every moment of his life. His hatred made him focused towards his goal and he never dashed astray. All throughout, his faith, fate and hatred never let him down. These three made him the victor of his chess game.
Winning his chess game would have been impossible if he only struggled alone. In his own chess game, he is the king and the king alone versus sixteen other pieces could never win. Ben-hur won because he trusted his controlling player and admits that he does not control the game. He also took risks, utilized chances and found opportunities as the face of the chess board changes. He, further, relied on his controlled hatred which gave him will to win. By trusting, being cunning and hating, he defeated his enemy. This is how Ben-hur won.
Indeed, life is a chess game. It is only between winning and losing. To win, one must plan his moves scrupulously and when the right time comes, strike. One must inflict terror to his enemy by being aggressive. Finally, one must also gamble and take risks to win. One must be like Ben-hur. Because no matter how we deny it or how we hide it, our greatest desire is to win – checkmate.
