Spiritual direction: water parable

While wandering around the world via blog sphere I found a comment by a blogger about how she viewed God as a dungeon and dragon game master. I wrote a long reply but want to focus on one section of it and amplify it for general benefit.

Focusing on God's "rules and regulations" and life as a "dungeon" over which there is a "master" is like being a young scholar new to earth who wants to learn about water. He immediately transports himself to a room in a building where there is an active faucet. He seals the doors and windows so he never leaves and he never looks out. The room is also sound proof. He then proceeds to study the faucet. His entire life becomes studying that one faucet and thinking he is learning about water on earth.

How does studying the operation of one faucet teach one about the rain? About the water droplets in the clouds? About the streams? About the swamps? About the lakes? About the ocean? About the composition of one's own body that is water based? About the sounds that running water or falling water makes? About the way plants require water to live? About the plants who store water when they do not have it? About how animals greet each other at the watering hole? About baptism? About the cleaning of water when it is polluted? About the different tastes of public water in different cities? About how people have made money from the sale of water in plastic bottles? About water pressure and how it is maintained in public facilities? About how salty water tastes, and that it is easier to float on salty water? About how to operate the car wash? About whether you prefer a bath tub or a shower (and how both are OK)? About how water can be in three forms, the air, liquid, and frozen as ice or snow... and what they look and feel like? About how substances dissolve into water, some quickly and some over eons of time? About how there is water on other planets? About the need to provide drainage in gardens and fields? About how tricky it is to water one's houseplants properly? (A little humor there, that is a skill that sometimes vexes me personally heh heh). About the beauty of a waterfall? About the foam on the waves?

Trying to understand God by his "rules and regulations" and by viewing him as a dungeon master is like trying to understand the life giving grandeur, and sometimes challenge, of water on earth by sealing one's self in a room with a faucet for life. That is a sad and terrible thought and certainly not "God's rule" nor his plan for anyone's life. That is being one's own dungeon master and slave.