Hi, I became a Christian early last month and since then I haven't played any videogames. I didn't really miss them in a big way until recently. Recently I have been wanting to play some of the games I own. I've been arguing with myself about whether they're good for a Christian to play...
Then, I searched google for answers and found this post:
https://www.jeffwofford.com/?p=1754
I would like to discuss the question and the post here.
So this is an interesting topic I've been thinking about recently, myself.
Before I started walking in the faith, I was the kind of person that played video games (the violent kind) every single day after work, after school, etc. And I loved them, and justified the playing of such things by saying that it kept me out of trouble, and that I was maintaining friendships over multiplayer, etc.
However, the more I grew in the faith and as I started reading the Bible, the Spirit pricked my heart over this issue. Now, what I think is not an opinion that I expect every Christian will feel regarding this, as some don't struggle with this as much, or are otherwise comfortable in their Christian liberty (not liberty to sin or dishonor God), but free to take rest or pleasure in something that doesn't directly tie to the worship of God.
So what I concluded in my heart is this, which is very similar to what the writer of that article you posted said: when I play violent video games, in my heart I feel that I'm committing murder (even if it is indeed cartoon violence), and the reason is because I still believe that thing I'm killing to be a living person (though it is simulated) and in my heart seek to destroy that very thing out of hatred, or at the very least, competition. Now, to me, when I thought of it this way, is a very wicked thing: because people cannot act in real life how they act in video games, otherwise people would never play them. For this reason, I feel that it is against the faith and is deliberate sin against the commands of God.
Also, when a person plays video games, whether violent or not, (as the writer said), a person tends to more often than not get sucked into them for hours and hours on end, to the point of sheer idolatry. I've noticed there is passive idolatry and aggressive idolatry (one is the worship of things through dedication and commitment of time, the other is worship of things by directly bowing the knee and pledging allegiance); many video games often ask you as the player to pledge your sworn allegiance to fake and unreal characters. In my mind, how is this any different than worshipping a graven image? Secondly, when I dedicate hours of my life to something that produces nothing for me in the real world, nor helps anybody else, that not only takes away time I could be spending worshipping God/praying, but also time I could be using to serve my loved ones, neighbors, friends, etc.
I admit that I still struggle with this, and is a sin I have trouble repenting of. Even this past week I redownloaded games I own to play them, and played them for almost an entire day; and then my conscience got the better of me and I redeleted them (I own them and can't get rid of them because I own them online), so the temptation is not something I can just throw away or get rid of directly. I prayed, asked forgiveness, and then sought to repent from the evil in my heart. I also notice that my personality is affected (because of the intense violence, drama, and evil that I'm exposed to) through playing games; primarily because when a person's mind is not set on God or the things of God, and his mind is set on something else, that something else will always lead a person away from the good things of God.
So, just some thoughts of mine on this. Take it or leave it. And God bless, friend.