A Good Game of Bigger and Better

By Dwayne Hilty, For The West Side Newspaper

In his popular book Love Does: Discover a Secretly Incredible Life in an Ordinary World, Bob Goff reflects on the surprising ways life seems to unfold in unplanned and unscripted ways, often revealing the marvelous fingerprints of God in some of the most mundane environments. One of his chapters chronicles a famous youth game aptly titled “Bigger and Better,” a scavenger-hunt-style challenge in which each participant starts with a single penny and goes door-to-door trading for something larger or more valuable. 

Over the years, I’ve played that game hundreds of times with youth groups and sports teams, and I’ve witnessed first-hand just how incredible the game is. Over the course of two decades I’ve seen participants come back with paintings, an Alaskan moose head, street signs (I never ask how they were acquired), a ukulele, a surfboard, and more couches than I care to remember.

The lesson behind the game is simple but profound: Growth often requires letting go, and when we release things like pride, selfishness, resentment, or greed, we actually create space to receive something far more valuable. God continually invites us into a life that is bigger and better than the one we could build on our own.

What fascinates me is how often I’ve seen this same principle play out far beyond youth groups. I’ve watched community leaders, business owners, educators, and volunteers trade self-centered approaches for collaboration, competition for partnership, and personal recognition for shared success. Almost without exception, the result is greater fulfillment, strong relationships, and a broader impact on the people around them.

Rotary captures this truth in its well-known motto: Service Above Self.  At its core is the belief that the work of strengthening a community is always larger than any one individual. When we choose to serve others, we discover that our lives become more meaningful, our influence more significant, and our impact more lasting than when we focus solely on ourselves.

Perhaps that’s the invitation before all of us. What if the next step toward something bigger and better isn’t acquiring more, but surrendering more?  What if the dream that seems impossible, the relationship that needs restoring, or the difference you hope to make in this community begins with a simple act of service?

After all, every remarkable trade in the game started with a single penny and a willingness to knock on the first door.

Dwayne Hilty was President of the Rotary of West Salem for the 2020-21 year and loves to live, work, play, and worship in his local community.  He serves as the Director of Development at Western Christian School and is the Interim Pastor of Western Mennonite Church.  He reached at dhilty@wcspioneers.org or 971-720-8300.