Video games, are they a sin?

[Shardvex4Christ]

Kyleiferous,

I too am a bit of a gamer, in fact, until recently, I was a huge gamer.

I personally don't believe there is anything wrong with some gaming, however, there should be some restrictions based on the Bible.

God tells us in the Bible to redeem (make good use of) our time because we live in evil times. Gaming is okay, but you don't want to waste too much time on them, because, who knows, Christ may come back within the hour, and maybe your time would be better spent in witnessing to someone before it's too late. (You can see my inner evangelist coming through, haha.)

God tells us to take every thought captive for Christ, so make sure that your games do not make you have any kinds of bad thoughts.

God tells us to gaurd ourselves from evil, both our eyes and ears. Make sure your games involve no kind of sin such as pornography or murder.

If you feel that your games are to bloody and violent, yet you still want to play First Person Shooters, there are many alternatives. For instance, Sonic Robo Blast 2 (srb2) is a non-violent, and I think very beautiful first person shooter, that you might like.

Just make sure that you have a godly standard of holiness and regulate you gaming through that standard.

 

[AfanofJesus]

Hey dude, never thought i'll see you again. Btw i'm sure there are other activities youths of our age can enjoy other than video games. But anyway, it all boils down to your relationship with god.

p.s, in singapore, the weather trolls you. it is a place where rain might only last 15 min. and then we can't do our outdoor activities because the venue is wet. so what we do indoors? Either we revise another chapter or bore ourself by playing COD. This is how an average teen in singapore lives XD

Hey! Yeah, I have been away a lot - my life has been really busy!

I'm sure as well that there are other activities youths can get involved in - that I think is to preferred - I think the question about gaming or not can be (rateher: should be) quite a difficult one judged for a non-christian too, I mean it's not really the most life-preparing activity... I guess the weather part is quite appliable up here in the north of Europe - I'd say almost everyone spends most of the summertime in Sweden leaving the gaming console behind - but during autumn and winter in Sweden there's not much to do outside, and not much inside neither, if you are alone.

 

[GrizzlyMonKeH]

Being an avid gamer, I've dealt with this question before. No action is inherently wrong or sinful. Sex is good in marriage, bad outside of it. Drugs are good in the medical field, bad if abused. God's intention is not for us to be bored. That being said, gaming is a tricky topic.

I think there are two different questions you should ask yourself. These can also be applied to other topics.

#1: Is it taking priority over my faith?
In other words, are you spending way too much time on it, to the point where you have spent less time in the Word, or hanging out with your Christian friends? If the answer is a yes, the solution is easy. Spend less time on it. You don't have to throw it in the garbage, just keep track of how much you do it.

#2: Is it a stumbling block to my faith?
This can be slightly more difficult, and varies from person to person. If you feel that a certain video game is causing you to think more sinfully or lustfully etc., stop playing it and find a different game. However, if it's not noticeably causing you any problems in your faith, I don't think there's a problem with it. Be careful, though. If you really like playing a game and it's damaging your thought patterns (which can manifest into action), you might find yourself making excuses to keep playing it.

Really, you just need to be aware of how certain games affect you, and make a rational decision about what you should and should not play according to your observations.

 

[zijiatimothy]

Agreed, thanks for answering dude.

 

[AfanofJesus]

Being an avid gamer, I've dealt with this question before. No action is inherently wrong or sinful. Sex is good in marriage, bad outside of it. Drugs are good in the medical field, bad if abused. God's intention is not for us to be bored. That being said, gaming is a tricky topic.

I think there are two different questions you should ask yourself. These can also be applied to other topics.

#1: Is it taking priority over my faith?
In other words, are you spending way too much time on it, to the point where you have spent less time in the Word, or hanging out with your Christian friends? If the answer is a yes, the solution is easy. Spend less time on it. You don't have to throw it in the garbage, just keep track of how much you do it.

#2: Is it a stumbling block to my faith?
This can be slightly more difficult, and varies from person to person. If you feel that a certain video game is causing you to think more sinfully or lustfully etc., stop playing it and find a different game. However, if it's not noticeably causing you any problems in your faith, I don't think there's a problem with it. Be careful, though. If you really like playing a game and it's damaging your thought patterns (which can manifest into action), you might find yourself making excuses to keep playing it.

Really, you just need to be aware of how certain games affect you, and make a rational decision about what you should and should not play according to your observations.

That was a very complete and well formulated reply! I agree!

 

[zijiatimothy]

BTW back to the topic of what kind of games can we play, has anyone ever tried minecraft? It's a good game where there's not much violence plus it allows your creativity juices to flow

 

[GrizzlyMonKeH]

I love Minecraft. Especially the redstone. I've made some pretty crazy circuits. (Thanks engineering classes.. LOL)