I already spoke about using the Internet to Do Hard Things. Well, what about video games? Is it possible to use something so time consuming, and wasteful as video gaming to glorify God?
“Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.” ~1st Cor. 10:31~
“Everything.” Since playing games CAN be beneficial, as everyone knows, through examples such as educational games, then we know that playing video games is in and of itself not sinful, and therefore is considered one of the things in the “everything” that we as Christians would and should be doing. But, are educational games the only type of video games that are beneficial? No, they are not.
I play video games, although not excessively. I used to play video games every minute that I could, which, in our family, admittedly, wasn’t that much. Regardless, a video game addiction is not the amount of time you spend playing video games. It is the amount of time you spend “thinking” about playing video games. And trust me, that was pretty constant. A lot of, or I daresay, most teenagers, even Christian ones, struggle with video game addictions, with varying degrees of severity.
But, what is wrong with video games? Is there anything spiritually wrong with the act of playing video games? No. It is the way in which we play video games that determines whether what we are doing is godly or not. A lot of times, I see video games played at youth group gatherings, in the name of “fellowship.” Here is my opinion of playing multiplayer games like Halo or Soulcaliber, etc:
(*complete and utter pure sarcasm begins:*) “OH, YAY!!! LOOK!! I GET TO BEAT UP MY FRIEND!! AND KILL THEM!! IN FACT, I GET TO KILL THEM OVER AND OVER!!!! YES!!! YES!!! CAN’T YOU FEEL THE BROTHERLY LOVE IN THE ROOM!!!!”(*complete and utter pure sarcasm ends*)
Get the point? I don’t think I can say it any louder. You are virtually beating up and killing your friends, all in the name of spiritual fellowship!
..”But it’s fun”?… whoopity-doo. Since when did “fun” come into the picture?
However, on the polar opposite, I think that games such as the Wii provides, are perfectly legitimate games to play at any christian event. Test your skills at the guitar? Sure. Try your hand at bowling? Sweet. Tennis? Bring it on! See who can kill their friend the quickest? …uh…
I just realized that in this article, I assumed that you were fighting each other. Well, what if that is not the case? What if you are playing with each other to conquer the forces of evil, or something or other? Well, that puts us back to the main question: is it beneficial? That is what it keeps boiling down to. Are you gaining any spiritual benefit by playing the game? Or are you playing it merely to play? If you are honestly making your relationship with the person you are playing with stronger, then there is nothing wrong with it. However, if you are just “having fun,” “hanging out,” “fellowshiping,” or any similar word which you might use, I believe that it is unbiblical to play video games. That seem a little extreme for you? You don’t agree with the fact that I just said ALL playing of video games is unbiblical unless you gain some spiritual, mental, or practical benefit? Well, take a look at the verse I quoted above:
“Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.” ~1st Cor. 10:31~
EVERYTHING! You think this excludes video games? Why on earth would it? If something does not glorify God, then it is not only unbiblical, then it is sinful. If you are not glorifying God everytime you play a video game, then you are commiting a sin.
Every time you find yourself playing a video game, think to yourself whether you are gaining anything from it. If you are not, then stop playing it, and go do something else that DOES glorfiy God. While it is possible to benefit from a video game(I play incredibly complex real-time-strategy games for the mental challenge it provides), they are generaly used in ways that are not beneficial, and you must examine your purpose for playing them every time you start one up.
Filed under: Christian teens, Christianity, Do Hard Things, Living for Christ, Pop culture, Rebellion, Religion, Technology, Teenage, Teens, Teens for God, Youth | Tagged: Do Hard Things, glorifying god, halo, Religion, video games
This whole concept applies to every area of life. Anything, even the best of things, can become addictions.From addictions to reading, the person you like, sports, music, food, ect. Really anything in too much can become a bad thing. Even serving people. We can become too focused on one area of our lives that we let other areas neglected.
On another subject (though still related), I personally don’t see how we can use video games to glorify God. My family got a WII for Christmas (from my grandma, my parents would never actually spend money on one) and we truthfully barely use it. We play it when friends come over and we do it as a family hang out thing sometimes. So it does give us time to spend together and all that. But in general, I didn’t see HOW video games can be used to glorify Christ. Just like I think I am going to stop a story I am writing because it doesn’t glorify Christ. I just wanted to know what you thought of how it can be used.
Soli Deo Gloria
Exactly. You use it to fellowship. That is what it should be used for. The Wii games are competitive. Healthy competition done in a friendly, christian manner, not JUST to beat your opponent, drives one to become better.
hope that helped.