Let us love one another.
—1 John 4:7
Charles Martel, who ruled in Austrasia in the eighth century, introduced “Human Chess” in 735 A.D. He used people as the pieces—costumed to reflect their rank—on a giant chessboard, manipulating them to his advantage.
A harmless pastime, I suppose.
But in real life, using people as pawns to promote personal ambition or enhance image is not harmless. Using people to advance a political agenda, with a toss-him-aside-when-he’s-no-longer-useful attitude, is unconscionable—as is the use of a trophy girlfriend, with her built-in obsolescence of age and anatomy.
“Let us love one another, for love comes from God. . . . Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love” (1 Jn 4:7–8). “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves” (Phil 2:3).
Love people and use things.
Don’t love things and use people.