Chess for Dummies

If you and I sit down to play chess but can’t agree on how a bishop moves—diagonally for me, perhaps any direction for you—the game collapses before it begins. No shared rules, no match. The board becomes a battlefield of confusion, not strategy. Similarly, in society, words are our pieces. If “justice” means retribution to one and rehabilitation to another, or “freedom” is my right to act but your obligation to conform, our discourse fractures. Without a shared lexicon, we’re shouting past each other, not building together. Spiritually, it’s deeper still. If “love” is sacrifice to me but self-fulfillment to you, or “truth” is divine revelation for one and personal perception for another, our paths diverge. We can’t walk united without some consensus on what lights the way.

Agreement doesn’t mean uniformity—it means enough overlap to move forward. One side might teach, persuade, or compromise, or at least agree not to sabotage the game. Without this, society stalls, and souls drift apart. And if God’s playing chess—seeing moves and mysteries beyond our grasp—while we’re stuck playing checkers, thinking it’s all simple jumps and captures, we’re doomed to lose. Not because we’re unworthy, but because we’re playing the wrong game entirely.

David’s job here? Teach us to play chess.

Our job? Learn it. 

Signed 

John The-Not-So-Beloved