The Quiet Game

I can remember playing the ‘quiet game’ when I was younger. Also, we played it with our girls when they were little. The quiet game is probably the most favorite game for parents to play with young kids.
I was reading at the bookstore today and a little girl was with her mother who was sitting in the reading area I was in. She kept talking and talking and the mother kept telling her to hush and be quiet. I said what any other respectable person would say, “don’t worry she’s not bothering me”…while in my head I was thinking…(have you ever heard of chuck e. cheese lady?) I started to suggest the quiet game. The quiet game is fun when you’re little, but we all come to a point in life where we figure out the quiet game. I can just bail out quickly and then talk all I want. Well, as adults I don’t think we ever really stop playing the quiet game. We play the game when we refuse to tell our true feelings because of fear. Fear of hurting feelings, dealing with pain and conflicts or cleaning up a relational mess. There are probably a lot of couples who play the quiet game everyday and then one day it all comes…usually undetected. The best way to end the quiet game is to tell your true feelings. But, who do you tell? The person that needs to hear it is what Jesus recommended in Matthew 18. I wonder if you have been playing the quiet game with someone at work, your spouse, your strong-willed child or a hateful relative. Remember, fear always lies behind the quiet game. Fear says, “God is not big enough to handle your problems.” I disagree…with God all things are possible.