One of my favorite arcade games has always been Whack-A-Mole, the one where you stand in front of a plastic field full of holes.  Colorful plastic rodent heads randomly pop up out of those holes for a moment; the goal is to whack them with your mallet before they hide back in the hole.  It’s a silly game, but full of adrenaline!  And – who knew – one with a spiritual dimension as well.  Actually, I think it’s a good example of how God can use anything for His purposes.  I’ll explain:

I frequently find myself convicted of pride.  Thankfully, I’m also beginning to recognize and confess it more quickly.  One morning, as I acknowledged yet another moment of self-conscious pride following a fruitful day of ministry, I realized it’s not so much a matter of being prone to pride as being steeped in it from the inside out.  I prayed, “Search me, O God, and know my heart, and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.”  I realized I should not be surprised that I would do such a thing (respond pridefully), but recognize that is in me (as opposed to an external flaming arrow) and needs to be exposed, confessed, repented of, another layer purified, making way for the next layer of Christ’s sanctification.

The following day, I realized God doesn’t even need to search my heart in this, it’s so constantly popping up.  I had a vision of Whack-A-Mole, recognizing the dirt field as my heart, the moles obviously representing pride rearing its ugly head, and hitting it with the mallet my attempts to confess and repent and deal with each individual event.  My first instinct was to pray, “God, help me to whack these faster, to deal with them more quickly each time they pop up.”  But suddenly I realized I need to pray, “God, clean out this warren of moles and their den!”  Wow, I have seen those little heads popping up all the time, but never realized there was a whole underground network behind them.  “Search me, O God, and bring in your excavating equipment (and give me green grass in the process, as my “lawn” is torn up)!”

Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.  See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.  Psalm 129:23-24