Preface
I have spent most of my life gaming. Forty plus years, from the earliest games to present-day, so I have a complete perspective on the subject.
Gaming and the Christian
The Ten Commandments will help you come to some conclusions on gaming. The first four teach us how to love God. The last six teach us how to love others.
How to love God.
- 1. Have no other gods before Him.
- 2. Do not make idols of any thing in our known reality.
When you allow something to become more important than God in your life, you are convicted by the first two commandments. Any thing can become so important in your life that you literally worship it over God. You put more importance on it in your life than you do God. It should be noted that false worship is actually promoted in games, with deities, altars and so on.
- 3. Do not take the Lord's name in vain.
Taking the Lord's name in vain is professing to be a Christian, but not living as a Christian; thus giving God a bad name by setting a bad example for others. Forsaking God for worldly things, in other words.
- 4. Worship Him as He specified.
God gives us a complete outline of worship. If we are not taking time to worship Him, but instead allowing any thing to rule our lives, to the point of not worshiping the Lord every week, then it is indeed breaking the first three and fourth commandments.
How to love others.
- 5. Honor your mother and father.
This applies to both kids living at home and adults living on their own. We never stop respecting our parents and listening to them. If you are disobeying your parents (while living at home) and doing things behind their back, or muttering under your breath, especially because of a thing in your life you deem important (gaming, for instance), you are most likely guilty of this commandment.
- 6. Do not kill.
- 7. Do not commit adultery.
- 8. Do not steal.
- 9. Do not lie.
- 10. Do not covet.
We know that killing (murder), adultery, stealing, lying and coveting are all bad.
- Killing in games desensitizes you to violence and death and cheapens the precious gift of life.
- Adultery and fornication in games validates them in your mind.
- Stealing is a popular game mechanic, even a genre (stealth typically includes theft).
- Lying to NPC's often gets you a more desirous result. This is by design.
- A big part of gaming is covetousness. Coveting the newest game. Coveting loot or gear.
Why do we accept them in gaming?
The truth is we relish them.
And what of the abominations listed in the Bible? Magic, for instance? Equally as enticing and equally as sinful.
"
But it's just entertainment.", is the excuse I hear in ever post. "These things aren't harmful. They're harmless entertainment." These are the lies we tell ourselves, to keep ourselves convinced that we're doing nothing wrong. It frees our conscience to pursue our worldly desires.
Satan's Snares
It isn't just gaming!
The truth is, Satan has had thousands of years to develop his diversionary tactics, his many ways of getting us to worship false gods and make idols. The entertainment you consume: TV shows, music, movies, sports, gaming... it's all a diversion to keep you from God. These forms of entertainment pump a steady diet of sin into your mind.
If you have been alive in the last several decades, you may have noticed that societal norms have been flipped. It didn't happen on its own. Entertainment has been pushing ideas into peoples heads, shaping the future generation(s) and how they think.
Don't think for a second that Satan isn't using technology for his greatest work.
Conclusion
Where does that leave us as Christians?
We need to recognize Satanic influence for what it is and not allow these things to be let into our lives, into our minds. These things are designed to pull us away from our Christian walk. Satan just needs a foot in the door.
What do we do? We remove the things from our lives we know are bad for us.
Does this mean we have to quit gaming? No. It does, however, mean that we need to be honest and forthright with ourselves and make reasoned conclusions about what we're doing. What games we choose to play. How much time we spend in them. MMORPG's by their very nature are time sinks. They're designed to pull you in and keep you playing. Can we honestly say as Christians that it's okay to spend long hours playing a game? I don't think so.
What games do I play? I play open world, sandbox, crafting and building, manufacturing and distribution games that don't require killing or use of magic.
How do I limit my time? I don't allow myself to become addicted to the game. I spend an hour or two and then I quit. I don't play every day. I limit it to an occasional leisure activity.
What do I do to get rid of the addiction of gaming? I spend time doing God's work. Answering questions like yours on various forums. I keep my mind on God, which keeps me focused on Christian things and not worldly things.
If you're convicted in your heart, it's the Holy Spirit telling you that you need to pause and assess the situation.
On the surface, gaming is harmless fun. On a much deeper level, it's Satanic influence, from the ruler of this world. If you look a little deeper, you will see the esoteric symbols in games, the depraved themes, the story of the cross twisted into a counterfeit revenge tale; Satan as the hero and God/Jesus as the villain (just about every action movie with a revenge theme as well), the idolatry and spiritualism; the list goes on.
Satan has an "8-track cassette" of subtle diversion (8-tracks plays endlessly). It's up to us to recognize it for what it is and steer clear of it. Many Christians will tell you it's okay to play games with sinful themes, for long hours a day, but the discerning eye sees it all for what it is.
