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What's that gambler's song again?  The Gambler, popularized by Kenny Rogers.  How does it go?

“On a warm summer's evening

On a train bound for nowhere….

(The gambler) Said, "If you're going to play the game, boy

You gotta learn to play it right.

You've got to know when to hold 'em

Know when to fold them

Know when to walk away

And know when to run.

Every gambler knows

That the secret to survivin'

Is knowin' what to throw away

And knowin' what to keep. 

'Cause every hand's a winner

And every hand's a loser….”

Because every hand’s a winner and every hand’s a loser, if you're sore after every loss and graceless after every win, you'll never learn how to play it right.

And in the end, you'll never truly survive intact, because only true losers feel sore after every loss and graceless after every win. Losers never learn what to throw away and what to keep.

Nor will you learn, in the game of life, that what really matters isn't transient wins and losses, because winning or losing a hand doesn't dictate eternal outcomes, which are based on how you play the game.

In other words, let's say you win the hand by cheating. The win becomes a sham—a hollow victory, since it's illegitimate—and you become a cheater: dishonorable, disgraceful, and untrustworthy, with lasting effects on your character.

So, do you think you can cheat your way into heaven?

Or cheat your way into someone's heart?

No, because guilty feelings have no rhythm and untruths have no soul, making future close relationships with everyone and the Lord improbable.

What matters are the eternal wins and losses: passing or failing tests of character that lead to either salvation or damnation.

It's the character wins and losses that dictate how the hands are ultimately played and determine the outcomes: sustainable or unsustainable prosperity, near utopias or total dystopian nightmares, and salvation in heaven or damnation in hell.

When you understand that every hand's a winner and every hand's a loser, you'll know how to play it right with truth, honor, decency, and good character, and you'll understand the secret to survivin is to know what to throw away and what to keep.

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