The Christian and Video Games

 

  Video Games

When we consider video games, we must realize that there is wrong to be found in some video games. There are certain video games that have things that the Christian should have no part in. In today’s post, I will show some Biblical principles about what should be in our video games.

The principles we should hold to are rather similar to what I established for my movies in a past post.

1.  I don’t want to disobey any Bible command

If there is any content in my video games that causes me to disobey any Bible command, then I should obviously not play that game.

 

2. Immorality

There are simply just some games that a Christian can’t play because of the immoral content. When the ESRB label on the bottom tells you that there is some sort of sexual content in it, then a Christian should have nothing to do with it. This is one reason to knock a game like GTA (aka Grand Theft Auto). Now one might say that, “Well, I can handle it just fine.”

But that is never the principle we should follow. Consider what was Samson’s biggest struggle? Women. What was David’s biggest struggle? Women. What was Solomon’s biggest struggle? Women.

So you’re telling me that the strongest man in the Bible, the wisest man in the Bible, and the man after God’s own heart fell to women, yet you will be just fine and always be on guard? Take heed of the Bible and stay away from immorality in your movies.

Psalm 101:3
“I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes.”

3. Profanity

God still takes profanity seriously. We may sadly be exposed to profanity in public places, but that doesn’t mean we have to let it be in our home. Profanity is poison to the mind.

Proverbs 4:24
“Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee.”

4. Witchcraft / Zombies

I refuse to play video games that have witchcraft, zombies etc. I do not play the survival mode in Minecraft but instead I play creative mode where you can shut those things off. 

Ephesians 5:11
“And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.”

If we want to obey this verse, we must not fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness. That is why I don't play games with demons, witches, zombies, etc.

Now one might think say "Well, it does not bother me."

The problem with the statement above is when we adopt that mindset, we begin to let feelings guide our standards and convictions rather than Gods Word.. We should not let our principles be determined by what we feel. It should always come from God and his word.

Proverbs 3:5-6  
"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."

5. I do not want to roleplay sin.

I should stay away from playing a video game that expressly allows me to roleplay sin. Consider these and ask yourself if it’s roleplaying sin.

A) Playing basketball in NBA 2K — No

B) Completing obstacle courses in Fall Guys — No

C) Robbing places with scantily clad women in Grand Theft Auto — Yes

D) Racing with cartoon characters in Mario Kart — No

E) Living an immoral and sensual lifestyle in Sims — Yes

F.) Use spells to summon demons in Skyrim — Yes

G. Playing as chefs to complete cooking challenges in Overcooked- No

6. I should keep my testimony

When choosing to play any video game, we must ask ourselves if, by playing this, our testimony is kept. This is where a game like Fortnite comes into question. While you may play offline with some friends, the majority would think you play online.

I personally believe that a Christian should not play Fortnite online. It is a game where people go around killing each other. There is a lot of chat options and exposure to immodest women that people play with in the game. I don’t play it for those reasons.

Our testimony isn’t determined by what we do but rather by what people think we do.

For example: My dad loves a certain island drink called Malta. But he does not buy it because it comes in a beer-like bottle. He desires to keep his testimony. He avoids the appearance of evil.

We must ask ourself if playing a certain video game can hinder my testimony.

Remember, we represent Christ with our testimony.

1 Thessalonians 5:22  
"Abstain from all appearance of evil."

7. How much time am I gaming?

We have covered some basic principles of what not to play in our video games but lastly, how much time should be spent on it. 

Now I am going to be completely honest right here. I love playing video games. They are super fun for me. But where I must be careful is how much time I spend on those.

Lets take a step back and give an honest look on video games.

When you think about it, they are unproductive through and through.

You play them for the express purpose of feeding our flesh.

Video games are time-wasters at the core.

When someone asks you, what do you do in your spare time?

One could say, I'm a gamer. Or if we wanted to rephrase that, we could say, I'm a time-waster.

Now I am not saying we should not play video games at all. But I do think we should always be careful of how much time we spend on them. We should always strive to be productive individuals and part of that means having video games in priority.

At the end of the day, we must realize they are insignificant. So upon this realization, we should set limits to be careful we do not overemphasize them.

I love video games, but even myself can fall into the trap of playing video games too much.

Ephesians 5:15-16  
"See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil."

-Silas Gimenez👋