Don't Be The Pawn

Chess - now that is a game of strategy and I love it!

I know this game inside and out. I know all the pieces and all of their allowed movements.

Every time I play this game, I have the "one move" that always stands out to me. This is the move of the pawn.

The pawn is designed to be the casualty.

It is rare for the pawn to make it to the other end of the board. His or her purpose is to distract, protect, and block the other player.

When playing the game, we don't want to lose the queen because she is super important. But also, we can't lose the king, or we lose the game.

The other pieces are there to plan and maneuver how to keep the king safe so that the game can be won. The pawn, well it's toast.

In life, we are often used as a pawn for other people to get ahead. Those wanting to get ahead use the weaker person or the one not paying attention as the causality to get ahead.

If you have ever watched any competition shows you will note how each person blames another person for the failures of the team. Rarely does someone say "It's me." They don't often take responsibility for their actions, they put the failure off on someone else.

Case in point.

I visited a fast-food restaurant some time ago. There was a special needs individual waiting on customers and doing an awesome job. I would have hired him in a minute.

He was paying attention to the details, he was being courteous, and genuinely all-around pleasant to be with. However, it was backing up due to the number of customers, so another employee came in to help and sent the young man to do something else.

When I received my drink, it was incorrect.

She immediately blamed what she thought was the weaker person. I corrected her. I showed her where the error was hers, and how it was hers because she came in taking over without getting all the information needed to serve the people that he had waited on.

She didn't read the receipt which showed that my drink was rung up correctly. I was not alone, the others waiting were upset at the way she treated the young man. The way this situation unfolded was what seemed to be the stronger person pushing the weaker person aside.

We all want to get ahead. We all want to climb that ladder of success. We must not climb over others to get there or knock someone off. It not only hurts our integrity, but it causes harm to the person we are climbing over or knocking off.

Keep in mind that we would not want some discourage us, so we must not discourage others. Who knows, your kindness may stand out more and you might get there before them anyway.

Pay attention to the game board of life. The game of life. Look for opportunities to be kind, lift up one another. Don't let yourself be the victim or get caught up in being the casualty.