While I was in California I had the chance to meet up with one of my friends that was visiting there from Broken Arrow, OK. When we met he greeted me with a new T-Shirt, an awesome looking shirt that used a logo most gamers know (MW2 logo) to get God’s word across. This friend of mine from Broken Arrow is a police officer, and often times him, a minister from the Broken Arrow church, and I log into Xbox Live to enjoy playing MW2 together (I have a 2.5 KD Ratio). I wore the shirt to a birthday party yesterday and two Christians from the Bear Valley church of Christ recognized the logo immediately and we began to talk about gaming. We talked about the days of Counter Strike, Battlefield 1942, Modern Warfare, and the newest game that is out Halo: Reach. I even sent a text to one of them with my gamer tag (Moses24p) so that we could hook up online and game together.
For those of you that are reading this article and have either a vague idea or no idea what Counter Strike, Battlefield, Modern Warfare, Halo, or a KD ratio is, you are probably in the minority. Recent studies have found that 60 percent of American adults ages 30-49 and 81 percent of Americans between the ages of 18-29 are gamers. In times past families sat around and listened to the radio, watched TV, but many today are spending their free time playing video games.
So what’s the point of this article? Well… yesterday while my wife and I were driving down the hill I was reading a magazine (Xbox Magazine) that had an article about gaming addiction. This article caused me to reflect on myself, my gaming habits, and how they could be destructive and harmful. No, this article is not about addiction but rather about some temptations gamers might have that would violate their Christian faith. As a fellow gamer, I know the temptations and struggles that come with gaming and wanted to shine a light on those areas so that I might encourage us to overcome them. This article would apply to you Farmville (Facebook Games) “gamers” as well (just replace the games I list with the games you so dearly enjoy).
First, I want to encourage us to be honest. While I could write about glitches in Modern Warfare 2 that can give us an unfair advantage (you MW2 care package glitchers know who you are) I think that there is another area that is even more detrimental. I want us to be honest with our family and friends. There is a temptation we gamers face to be dishonest. What I mean is the “just one more game” syndrome or “just 10 more minutes” syndrome. Have you ever told your wife, mom, dad, family member or friend “just 10 more minutes” to have to be reminded an hour later that your 10 minutes are up? Maybe you just got owned in a multiplayer match and you don’t want to log off with that as your last game. It could be that you are at the end of the level and those Elites keep taking you out. Whatever the case, something tells me that all of us gamers have been tempted or have broken our word to do “just this one last thing.”
I want to encourage us to keep our word and be honest. Jesus commanded us to “let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No” (Matthew 5:37). We shouldn’t say we are going to do something and then turn around and not do it. When we tell someone “just one more game” or “just 10 more minutes” let’s stay honest and keep our word.
Second, I want to encourage us to be a godly. Whether we’re in a gas station, grocery store, in front of the tv, playing sports, or playing a video game, we are surrounded by bad influences. Bad language, ungodly images, bad attitudes, and the like are as present in video games as they are in everyday life. Someone might be upset that you were camping so in between matches they begin their rant laced with vulgarity. Maybe you had an awesome game and someone accuses you of cheating. Whatever the case, we need to be godly.
Jesus taught us to not repay evil for evil but blessings for cursing (Romans 12:17; Matthew 5:44). We are called to not conform to the world but rather encourage the world to conform to Christ (Matthew 5:16; Romans 12:2). It is sad that some act or do things ungodly but their ungodliness is not a license for us to be ungodly. Don’t allow a few well placed head shots into your dome to cause you to curse, be unkind, or ungodly. Instead tell the guy or girl good job after the game and realize that blessings are much more rewarding than cursing. We never know, we could build many new friendships and be a great influence on others if we made it a point to practice godliness while gaming. Let’s be the godly person we know we should be.
Third, I want to encourage us to keep our priorities straight. Like most other forms of entertainment, gaming can tempt us to get our priorities mixed up. To be honest, I could literally spend a whole day playing video games and have a great time doing it. Gaming in and of itself is not sinful but if we allow it to take priority in our lives it could become sinful. There are commands in the scriptures such as honor your father and mother, love your wife as Christ loved the church, and love God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind (Ephesians 6:2; Ephesians 5:25-28; Matthew 22:37). We can be tempted to mix up our priorities and neglect these simple and straight forward commands through our desire to play video games. We must remember that sometimes what we would like to be doing isn’t always the best thing to be doing.
We need to keep our priorities straight. Gaming shouldn’t come before our chores, homework, or job (unless your job is a professional gamer, game tester, ect.). If our husband or wife wants to talk, cuddle, or just spend time together, gaming should take a back seat (my wife is going to love that sentence). If our Bibles have been collecting dust, and we have been neglecting the works of the church for gaming then surely we can see how our priorities have become mixed up. God, relationships, and responsibilities should be the priority in our lives and not gaming. Being a gamer is great but remember that being a Christian, a spouse, a good child, and a responsible person is of greater importance.
I am a Christian gamer. I love to fly up in the sky with my jet pack as I shoot my Fuel Rod Cannon into a group of alien grunts and elites on firefight. I enjoy calling in the AC-130 on Wasteland were the enemy has nowhere to hide (and I love it when a newbie keeps hitting the respawn button instead of watching the kill cam). I take pride in beating a level on Halo: Reach on Legendary by myself. I am a gamer like most of my friends and family members. Like most of my friends and family members, gaming brings its temptations to me as well. As a Christian gamer I want to encourage us to be honest, be godly, and keep our priorities straight. Gaming is great entertainment, but if it becomes a stumbling block to being a Christian, we might want to consider taking a break or giving it up.
Gamer Statistics: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2336392,00.asp
Hey, who else out there loves farmville as much as i do?
Honestly, I have never played farmville but I know many that do. My wife and I spent a few nights with an elder and his wife. She had a large monitor on her coffee table and was pretty good at taking care of her crops (on farmville).
I thought it was cool to see an elders wife that was a gamer!
Great topic for the temptations of video gaming. It seems as though you’ve been describing my life as a gamer! I have definitely struggled with spending inordinate amounts of time playing games, and the anger that comes with repeatedly getting pwned by some 12 year old. Thanks Andrew!
but i want to ask something if i as christian playing these games that kills people then i am telling my love ones listening to certain music bad isnt dat being a hypocrite ?
Hi Keon. Thank you for taking time to check out the article. I appreciate and commend your desire to be spiritually sound and consistent but I do not agree with your premise. I do not believe shooting someone in a make believe game is the same thing as (really) killing someone.
how much for a shirt lol, i would wear that all day!!! I am a christian gamer, and i have found it hard to find other gamers that did not swear, nor could i speak to them about my faith and my Lord,lately tho i been getting my life right with God and seeking more friends in general who can share the same beliefs! i want the shirt XD wear it when pwning