How Not to Play Starcraft

Anyone who knows me knows I like to play video games and anyone who knows me well knows that Starcraft is one of my favorites. 

It's an RTS (Real Time Strategy) game that takes place in the distant future where you play as three different factions; Terran, Protoss, and Zerg which all have their own unique play styles. You control groups of units to collect resources in order to build combat units. These are then used take out your opponent who is trying to do the same thing to you. It's basically a fast and violent version of chess as you use different strategies to stay ahead and defeat your opponent. 

This game takes a lot of practice to get good at playing it. One needs to understand the workings of the game, strengths and weaknesses of each race, and what strategies work best in certain situations. The learning process is as rapid as the game action, which means that you'll make a LOT of mistakes. 

I remember playing a couple matches in Starcraft where I just got owned in some way or another. Sometimes it was because my opponent would use really cheap tactics, something hard to defend against, so that he could squeeze out an easy win. Other times it was a massive army of units so numerous that it would be impossible to defeat all of them with the meager force that I had. In either case, I would quit the game fuming from the defeat and rather than trying to learn from my mistakes, I immediately went into another match. Therefore I missed out on the opportunities to learn so I could better defend myself in the future. Thus I would get owned in the future by the EXACT same tactics used by someone else. If I had taken the extra bit of time to watch the replays of my past games and learn from my mistakes, things like zerg rushes and protoss Death-balls would have become a thing of the past.  

We as humans are going to make mistakes. It is an unavoidable part of because it is how we are able to progress as human beings. The true test is whether we are able to learn from those mistakes and do better next time. Thankfully, we have a loving Heavenly Father that is always willing to help us in the same way that our parents lift us up when we fall down. In the same way that they brush us off and wipe away the tears. As long as we earnestly seek to do better, he will lift us up. 

We shouldn't be afraid to make mistakes. That's how life works. But what we should fear is when we are unwilling to make mistakes or to fix them. Then we will be left unto ourselves because just like our earth parents, God cannot help those of us who are unwilling to change or accept the help.