Human Chess . . . .

Chess is an ancient game of strategy. Each player begins with 16 pieces on the chessboard with the goal of cornering his opponent's king. It has take different forms over the years. One form is human chess, which was introduced around AD 735 by Charles Martel, duke of Austrasia. Marten would play the game on giant boards with real people as the pieces. The human pieces were costumed to reflect their status on the board and moved at the whim of the players, manipulating them to their own ends. Could this human version of the game of Chess be one that we sometimes play? We can easily become so driven by our goals that people become just one more pawn that we use to achieve these goals. The Scriptures, however, call us to a different view of those around us. We are to see people as created in the image of God(Gen. 1:26). They are objects of God's love(John 3:16) and deserving of ours as well. People are to be loved, not used.