I'm wondering if I can keep my hobbies. Such as writing and video games. I am a born again Christian but everyone says, don't do things out of selfishness and do what is pleasing to God, I'm not allowed to have self-will?
What do you think it means to be a "born-again Christian," exactly?
What do you mean by "self-will"?
There are a bunch of things we do that could be called selfish. They are self-focused, for sure, but they are also necessary to health and well-being. Things like sleeping, eating, working - we have to do these things if we want to be physically okay and have clothing to wear and a roof over our heads. Is it selfish, then, to sleep, or eat, or work? Sort of. But in a good way - so long as our eating, sleeping and working are controlled by God. Outside of God's control, sleeping can become slothfulness, eating can become gluttony and working can become an idol.
I can't enjoy my video games or writing? It's basically monk life? I don't want to look out for myself but I do want some hobbies and passions in my free time. But they need to be pleasing to God? Why even create me if I am just going to be a clone that desires EXACTLY EVERYTHING of God?
It's hard to respond to these sorts of remarks since they express a deep misunderstanding of so many things. Who gave you life? God. Who keeps you alive, moment by moment? God. Who gave you your capacity to think and find pleasure in things? God. Who gave you the world in which exists so many wonderful things? God. But you should be able to do what you want without having to bother about pleasing God? I don't follow your thinking...
You're in God's universe. If He disappeared in the next instant, so would everything else. Both you and the galaxy-devouring black holes out in the cosmos totally rely upon God for existence. Quite literally, there is no you without Him; there is no
universe without Him. But even though this is so, you should be able to do as you like at various points without bringing God into it? How does this make sense, exactly?
God didn't make the universe for you. He made it for Himself. Everything that exists God made for His purposes, to serve His will. Including you. Inasmuch as God not only made everything but sustains it at every moment, it seems to me He has the right to order everything as He likes. Including you.
You want to engage in activities that aren't pleasing to God? Maybe watch a movie, or play a video game that have crap in them, stuff God has said that He hates? Why should you be free to do so without God objecting, without consequences to your relationship with God? Why should God have to take a back seat to what you want? Who's God, exactly? You or Him?
The really weird thing, though, is that you can do as you like - sort of - in God's universe. For a while anyway, you can sin, you can watch garbage on t.v. or play games that are demonic and obscene, you can stare at inappropriate content for hours a day, you can fool around with drugs or booze. Go ahead. You aren't God's prisoner or puppet. You have the freedom to choose to love God and obey Him but that freedom works in the opposite direction, too. You also have the freedom to choose yourself over God, to live your way rather than His.
Choices and actions always have consequences, though. Even for God. He's warned you what the end result of a life chosen in favor of yourself will be. He's also said to you in His word that the life He wants you to have in Him is not bitter, boring and monastic but rich, full of meaning, and joy, and goodness. But you must choose for yourself. When you do, though, consequences will follow; some sooner and some later, good or bad, depending.
Part of the reason God turns you off right now is that you don't really know Him. If you did, you'd understand how amazing it is to know and walk with Him. But, at the moment, it seems you are big and He is small. And the World calls so loudly, too, beckoning you with noise, and color, and stimulation! Join the party! Leap into the World's wild riot of self-gratification! It'll be thrilling, and satisfying and intense, the World promises.
There is a way, though, that seems right unto a man but the end thereof is the way of death. Some of the deadliest things seem the most harmless at first. Like telling God we want our own way rather than His. The Prodigal got busy with the World. It took a bit, but eventually he ended up right where God says we all end up when we defy Him and go our own way: in the pigpen of sin, dirty, poor and starving for the life of purity, peace and fullness only God can provide.
Let me be open, Undertale, a game that has some Christian elements but overall has magic (yes I like the magic but for fantasy sense) and what I will say is worse, it promotes homosexuality. This is the element I don't like.
God doesn't like it, either. Remember what He did to the city of Sodom? Why, then, behave like Lot did and put yourself purposely in proximity to what God hates so much he destroyed it with fire from heaven? Give in to sin in one area and, little by little, you'll give in to sin in other areas. One step at a time, you'll move farther from God and deeper into evil, until, one day, you'll be so far into darkness you won't be able to find your way out, doing things that, at the beginning of turning from God, you would never have dreamt of doing. But this is always how sin works: It takes us farther than we wanted to go and costs far more than we ever wanted to pay.
Then there is Team Fortress 2, what I love about it is, it's a game that is a first-person shooter and revolves around team work. It has many interesting game style mechanics. I don't feel convicted by a mild violent video game because have any of us read the Old Testament? But personally, I have a distaste to profanity and some of its insults to the opponent.
"A little leaven, leavens the whole lump."
"A fly in the ointment causes it to stink."
"Little foxes spoil the vine."
God says to us in His word that only a little bit of evil is enough to poison us spiritually and "leaven," "spoil" and "stink up" our lives.
The fact that violent things are recorded in the OT hardly serves as a reason to entertain yourself with violence. Does Jesus's horrible death on the cross mean we can play games of torture and death? Of course not. God calls His children to peace, not violence, to gentleness, meekness and love, not bullets, blood and killing.
If you don't feel convicted by things that God hates (wanton killing, violence as entertainment, foul language) it isn't a sign you should go ahead and continue with them, but a sign there's something really wrong with your relationship with God.
I want to obey but I want some liberty. I feel as if it's just read the bible, pray all the time, fast (something I hate because I can't stand the feeling of starvation.) I want to enjoy my life and not extra possible legalisitic doctrines from very far right and fearful pastors. I cannot stand all the stuff I read and it's putting a stumbling block in my way.
The "liberty" you want is actually bondage - bondage to yourself, to your desires and will. And the more in bondage to yourself you are, the less you are free to live as God created you to live and to know Him. Your selfish liberty actually cuts you off from God and imprisons you in yourself, servant to the World and the devil, too.
You don't seem to really understand what walking with God is, what it looks like and how it works. No wonder, then, you want to run away from it. The view you have of walking with God is terrible! And unbiblical. If you want to talk more about how to properly know and walk with God, PM me. Read some of my threads on the Discipleship subforum.
