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Better than a LARP?

How, exactly, does Christianity compare to an RPG? If I'm going to claim that they're alike, I'd better be prepared to back that up. In order to explain the basics of Christianity, then, I will explain both how it is like an RPG, and how it is not.

In any RPG there is a gamemaster, a player who directs the adventure and controls the game world at large, but has no direct control over the player characters, or PCs. He or she can narrow down the choices available to a PC, but cannot force a PC to choose one way or the other. This is actually quite similar to the way the Christian world works. God is analogous to the gamemaster, and we are like the PCs. He controls what options are available to us, but leaves the final choice entirely up to us. God as a GM is all-powerful within His world, but continues to give us, the PC's, the privilege of free will. The important difference between God and a normal, mortal GM is that God is almost always fair and just. Quite possibly you have played a game in the past with a GM who changed the rules as he or she went, cheated on dice rolls, set absurdly high difficulty checks, or told players "no" without justification. When the GM is out to get you, it is almost impossible to win, and very tempting to quit. With God as a GM, this will never be a problem. Perhaps you noticed, though, and are suspicious of my earlier statement that God is "almost always fair." That may sound like a loophole for unfairness to you- and it is. However, the important thing to realize is that the few times God is unfair, He is always unfair in our favor. God will not alter the dice to make us fail, but will sometimes give us the extra we need to succeed on our checks. He does not bend the rules against us, but is willing to bend the rules for us. Whenever He is not being a completely just GM, it is always because He is being a completely benevolent GM. He has not only the rules but the interests of His PCs at heart. I would call Him the perfect gamemaster, but I fear that would be an understatement- His campaign is hardly a game.

Unfortunately, we PCs are somewhat less than perfect. Often we feel this imperfection more acutely outside of the game- because, alas, few of us can fling around fireballs, disarm complicated traps, or wield two swords simultaneously in daily life- but our character sheet alter-egos have their faults just the same. Even that rare PC who begins with a score of 18 in every attribute (the highest any character can roll) still has disabilities and shortcomings based on his or her choice of character class. A fighter can't cast spells. A wizard can't specialize in weaponry. A multiclass character lacks the finesse of more focused PCs. We are all mortal, flawed, fallible. When caught out of our element, we may even be doomed. A talented cleric may be caught by a simple mechanical trap. A master thief may be cornered by even a low-level undead monster. Again, this same principle holds true in our out-of-game lives. Each of us has our own strengths and weaknesses, and not a one of us is invincible. Even those lucky ones among us who seem to have rolled all 18's at birth stumble and fall from time to time. I once read a book in which the hero's foster father counseled him that "for each of us there comes a time when we must be more than what we are." It is wise advice, but I would paraphrase it- for each of us there comes a time when what we are is not enough. Whether paper PCs or flesh and blood humans, sometimes our all is simply not enough.

However, this is not cause for despair, but consideration. Every character, every person, though imperfect, can improve. In fact, character growth and development is one of the main points of most RPGs. As PCs progress through the game, they gain levels, powers, and wealth, and the previously impossible becomes plausible. A character with a pitifully low ability score can, through experience and effort, see it raised, and accomplish tasks that were barred to her before. Another character that would die at one blow from a dragon may, in the same time, become a worthy opponent for the monster he once feared. In the Christian life, too, growing stronger, wiser, and better is an important aim. Every good GM wants to see his or her PCs grow and improve- and our Master is not just good, but greater than any gamemaster could ever be. He promises not merely to make us better, but to make us perfect. It won't happen overnight. After all, no character goes from 1st to 20th level in one session. Neither will it happen without any exertion on our part. No PC ever gained a level by sitting at home doing nothing. And we must always remember where our experience points come from. In an RPG, they are awarded us by the gamemaster. In life they are gifted us by God. In neither case are they solely of our own making. We plant the seed of our betterment by our own will and effort, but without proper light and water, it will never bear fruit. Conversely, the most favorable growing conditions will be to no avail if the seeds remain firmly clutched in our fists. We have to take the first step or nothing will change. Unless you join the campaign, you cannot expect to share the spoils- and in God's campaign, the spoils are beyond anything we have ever played for. No GM would ever promise a perfect character, but God does- and God is not dealing with papers and dice. A GM will give you greater powers than your own for a time, in imagination. God will give you greater powers for eternity, in truth. You decide which is better.