Pawns

I once heard someone remark, “God is the master chess player and he knows just how to move all the pieces for a perfectly orchestrated game.”  This person assumed we are all like pawns on God’s speckled playing field and that he knows just where to place all of us so the more important matters, and pieces, can be accomplished, sometimes having some of us do side-steps along the way, but always moving forward.  Of course, this implies that there is an equally skilled opponent with an equally well-equipped artillery.  I think this a fallacious analogy for several reasons, though there may be some redemptive qualities hidden within.  First, it presumes that we are fighting to protect something bigger and greater and are the forerunners, like pawns in chess, in the great battle.  I will grant that we, like pawns, are not indispensible, but we are not the least important players.  I will even grant that we are at war, like chess pieces, however, the other side has the advantage of being invisible – thus, the only way to win the battle would be to trust the marching orders of someone that can see all the players.  But I simply cannot concede to the idea that God is the grandmaster of our cosmic chess game, for, again, this implies limited knowledge and one that is waiting for the opponent’s next move.  Not to mention, if we were to extend the analogy, we would not be pawns, but bishops (Titus 1:17), knights (2 Tim. 2:4), and kings and queens (1 Peter 2:9)…and I am quite sure rooks fit in somewhere, but after all, this was a poor analogy.