We've All Played Monopoly

Dwight Moody, one of this country’s most stirring evangelists, was not known as an erudite scholar. Growing up a poor, fatherless farm boy, Moody accepted Christ at age 17 while working in a shoe store in Boston. Unfortunately, he was denied church membership because he was “not sufficiently instructed in Christian doctrine.” Undeterred, Moody moved to Chicago and started up a Sunday School ministry that reached out to the ragamuffins of the city and in turn their parents, growing rapidly until the numbers were in the thousands.
Even with such an obvious pastoral calling, Moody was not a silver-tongued speaker and often received advice from the “learned” imploring him to keep silent; he simply made too many grammatical errors. Once, when Moody was being considered as a speaker for a revival campaign in England, an elderly Anglican pastor protested, ”Why do we need this Mr. Moody? He’s uneducated. He’s inexperienced. Yet listening to some of you talk, you’d think Mr. Moody had a monopoly on the Holy Spirit?”
The room grew silent. Then another pastor spoke. “No, Mr. Moody doesn’t have a monopoly on the Holy Spirit, but the Holy Spirit sure has a monopoly on Mr. Moody!”
Does the Spirit have a Monopoly on you? Does He own Park Place and Boardwalk and all four railroads? Does He claim sole possession of every utility, every house, every hotel, right down to that little silver doggie and funny looking shoe?
Painful as it is, I have to admit that I sometimes opt for a fair trade agreement, and find myself buying into the world’s values and priorities. It’s as if I forget that I have Christ living inside me and make ugly, selfish soul choices, say rude things and hustle along with impatience, frustration and self-concern.
CHRIST IS A RESIDENT IN MY LIFE – BUT HE’S NOT ALWAYS THE PRESIDENT!
So I’ve been pondering how I can grow to let Him monopolize me more. Here’s what I’ve discovered so far.
I believe that to see Christ taking over your Monopoly game, you must begin each day in prayer. Don’t worry – I’m not talking big, long prayer here. A “quickee” will do – just some awareness that you are more than just a hunk of flesh joining a bunch of other hunks of flesh in a daily hustle and bustle.
One – you ARE a spirit joined to Christ.
Two – you HAVE a soul with a brain that is being gradually taught by the Holy Spirit about Christ’s power and leadership in you.
Three – that old body that you LIVE IN has another day of jostling relationships in family, business and friendships.
When we choose Christ as our leader, we concede that we can’t put much faith in these earthly bodies and that the mentality of our souls needs revision and correction.
Another way for His Monopoly takeover is that you must be familiar – and I mean cozy, dog-eared, bedside-table familiar – with His instruction book, the Bible. Without the “Book”, it’s easy to get off track. But you can bet your life that if the prompting you are feeling matches what you are reading, you are hearing from your guide. But a guide is no good if we’re couch potatoes. Unless we pick up our feet and walk with our guide, we’re going to get lost.
When you keep your prayers going up and your nose going down in the good book, choices become easier to make. It become clear that there is only one market worth buying into – and Christ holds all those Monopoly deeds.
And, on top of that, you’re even getting a “Get Out Of Jail Free” card!

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