Home baking became trendy, and TupperWare sales soared. Banana bread fresh out of the oven and sourdough baking became a global phenomenon. Zoom communications became the norm worldwide. The sale of 1000-piece puzzles surged as much as 2000% — emptying stock in a matter of days. The number of video gamers spiked to 2.7 billion. That is just a small sampling of things that surged exponentially during the global COVID Pandemic of 2020-2022.
A Game That Captured the World
In Brooklyn, New York, a Welsh-born software engineer revisited a game he had developed years earlier. Homebound and feeling the disconnectedness experienced during the Pandemic, Josh Wardle refined his earlier game and, in early 2021, gifted Wordle to his wife, Palak Shah. Together they played the game on their sofa and eventually shared it with family and friends.
Wordle was launched online in October 2021 with just over 90 players, and three months later (early January), 300,000 were playing. By the end of January 2022, the number of daily players had ballooned to 2 million.
Each day, there is a mystery five-letter word that you have to guess. And you only have six chances to figure out what it is. The game helps you guess the right word by turning the letters you choose into different colours.
When Success Becomes a Burden
What began as a simple gift to his wife, with little expectation of widespread success, became a viral global sensation within 120 days of its launch. Yet the viral success of Wordle did not bring Josh Wardle the peace of mind or satisfaction many might expect. Instead, he experienced unanticipated pressures from the tsunami of success, resulting in persistent misery.
In late January, 2021, Wardle unloaded Wordle to The New York Times for a seven-figure sum.
As I listened to Josh Wardle describe the stress and misery that accompanied his sudden success, I thought of countless others who thought they would be over-the-top with joy, contentment, and fulfillment, yet who have found a certain misery in success.
One of the books of Wisdom literature in the Bible says this:
What does a man acquire from all his labour and from the anxiety that accompanies his toil on earth? For all day long his work produces pain and frustration, and even at night his mind cannot relax! This also is futile! Ecclesiastes 2:22-23
Wordle lends itself easily as a spiritual analogy. Every day, millions of people open their Wordle app knowing three things:
- There is an answer.
- They do not know it.
- They have only a limited number of attempts to find it.
In many ways, that mirrors life itself.
We Know Something Is Missing
People may deny God intellectually, but inwardly many feel empty, disconnected, restless, uncertain and searching.
The Bible describes the human family as sheep gone astray.
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way … Isaiah 53:6
Like a Wordle player staring at blank squares, people sense there must be meaning somewhere — but cannot find it or see a clear path forward.
A fitting five-letter Wordle word for the sinner’s condition might be:
- STRAY
- EMPTY
- BLIND
- ALONE
- BOUND
Perhaps you have been trying to solve the riddle of life by pursuing success, religion, morality, relationships, self-improvement, or money. Yet none of these guesses brings the answer your heart truly needs. How many tries do you have left?
Wrong Guesses Reveal Something
For those of us who have played Wordle, we know that even our wrong guesses teach us something. Gray letters eliminate false hopes. Yellow letters suggest partial understanding. Green letters bring clarity.
Human life often works similarly. People pursue things they think will satisfy, such as fame, possessions, entertainment, philosophy and spirituality without Christ.
Eventually, many come to the painful realization: “That wasn’t the answer.”
In Luke Chapter 15, Jesus tells the classic story of the Prodigal Son. The son took his own path, leaving his father’s house in pursuit of a better and more fulfilling life in a faraway land. He made guess after guess searching for fulfillment until famine, emptiness, and brokenness revealed his need.
Sometimes God even uses disappointment mercifully: failed guesses showing us where life is not found.
The Problem Is Bigger Than Ignorance
In Wordle, the player lacks information. But this is where the analogy doesn’t quite fit our spiritual reality.
The Bible diagnoses our problem as far deeper:
- spiritually blind, separated from God, sinners by nature and choice
The issue is not merely that we do not know the answer. It is that we naturally resist it.
Jesus Christ said:
The light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. John 3:19
The human heart, in its embrace of darkness, keeps making wrong guesses. Perhaps, if you are honest, you have recognized this struggle in your own heart.
Jesus Is Not Merely a Clue — He Is the Answer
Perhaps you consider yourself to be on a spiritual journey. In your spiritual search, you may feel as though you are exploring different paths or possibilities.
Christianity is not ultimately about improving your guesses. It is about God revealing the answer.
Christ did not come merely to teach moral lessons or offer spiritual advice. He came to rescue sinners.
For the Son of Man [Jesus Christ] has come to seek and to save the lost. Luke 19:10
Jesus said:
I have come as a light into the world, so that everyone who believes in me should not remain in darkness. John 12:46
The Gospel declares:
- Forgiveness through the blood of God’s Son, Acts 13:38-39, 1John 1:7
- Reconciliation with God, Romans 5:10
- Eternal life through faith in Christ, Romans 6:23, Ephesians 2:8-9
Jesus said:
I am the way, the truth, and the life.” John 14:6
Not: “I will help you discover your own truth.” But: “I AM.”
The answer is not hidden in self-discovery. It is revealed in Christ.
Each Wordle game allows you six tries to find the one five-letter word answer. Consider the contrast between these six five-letter descriptions of the human condition and God’s answer in Christ:
There Is Urgency
One reason Wordle is compelling is because the guesses are limited. Every passing day reminds us that life itself is limited. We only have so many “tries” and then the “game of life” is over.
God’s Word — the Bible, repeatedly reminds us:
- Life is brief, James 4:14
- Eternity is real, Luke 16:19-31
- Today is the day of salvation, 2 Corinthians 6:2
Every person is moving toward an eternal answer.
The Gospel Difference
Here, the metaphor of the word game breaks down wonderfully. In Wordle — the player must solve the puzzle. At the heart of the Gospel message — indeed, the over-arching theme of the Bible— is this astonishing truth: God loves, seeks and saves lost sinners.
The Shepherd searches for lost sheep.
The Father runs to meet the prodigal.
Christ dies for the ungodly.
For while we were still helpless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. For rarely will someone die for a just person—though for a good person perhaps someone might even dare to die. But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:6-8
Unlike Wordle, salvation is not achieved by human cleverness, luck or chance. It is received by grace through faith alone.
For by grace you are saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any person should boast. Ephesians 2:8-9
Millions spend their days trying to solve five-letter puzzles while missing life’s greatest answer. The human heart is restless until it finds Christ. The greatest five-letter word is “Jesus.”
Have you found the answer yet? Or perhaps the better question is this: Have you accepted God’s answer for your greatest need? God’s answer for you in this life and for eternity is –
Sources:
- https://time.com/6143715/wordle-sale-josh-wardle-interview/
- https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/wordle-creator-new-game-recovered-pressure-viral-success-9.7144799
- https://www.shacknews.com/article/129559/wordle-clones-made-the-creator-feel-miserable-drove-its-sale
