The Shepherd Press Blog

Wisdom and Gaming

As we conclude this series on gaming, there is one more question that remains: Can Christians engage in gaming with a good conscience? The answer, I believe, is yes, given a significant qualifier:  This pursuit must be done with biblical wisdom. Wisdom is the skill that comes from a deep passionate love of God’s truth. You may have been born with intelligence, precocity, and a good memory, but with regard to wisdom, you were born a fool. Wisdom is a skill that may only be acquired through great energy and faith. Protection from the allure of gaming comes from a vigorous pursuit of wisdom. Take a moment to read Proverbs 1:30-2:6.

30 since they would not accept my advice
       and spurned my rebuke,

 31 they will eat the fruit of their ways
       and be filled with the fruit of their schemes.

 32 For the waywardness of the simple will kill them,
       and the complacency of fools will destroy them;

 33 but whoever listens to me will live in safety
       and be at ease, without fear of harm."

1 My son, if you accept my words
       and store up my commands within you,

 2 turning your ear to wisdom
       and applying your heart to understanding,

 3 and if you call out for insight
       and cry aloud for understanding,

 4 and if you look for it as for silver
       and search for it as for hidden treasure,

 5 then you will understand the fear of the LORD
       and find the knowledge of God.

 6 For the LORD gives wisdom,
       and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

This passage is really an extension of Proverbs 1:7. It describes an earnest, energetic, almost frantic pursuit of wisdom and understanding. For Christians, the pursuit of wisdom must not be casual or sporadic. The casual pursuit of wisdom is no match for the powerful attraction of electronic gaming. You and your children must have your wisdom skills finely honed in order to even think wisely about what gaming activity, if any,  should be enjoyed.

Developing this skill of wisdom is the result of having a mind renewed by the redemptive power of Christ. As we mentioned earlier, you won’t find the term electronic gaming in any concordance. But if you give yourself to the pursuit of wisdom as if your life depended on it—and it really does (Deut. 32:44-47)—then you will be building the principial base you need in order to evaluate the impact of gaming. Let me stress this again:  you must begin with the passionate acquisition of wisdom before you or your kids even think about gaming. 

This challenge is the same one given by Paul to Timothy. Paul is calling Timothy to warfare that yields a good conscience:   "This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, 19 holding faith and a good conscience… "  I Timothy 1:18-19.

You must be just as prepared for warfare as Timothy was. If your children see this commitment in you, you will indeed be holding out the word of life to them.

You see, once we have laid the groundwork, the particular answer to a question—like what to do about gaming—need not be long and complicated. Please read and reread the passage in Proverbs referenced above. To apply this passage faithfully takes great wisdom and courage. It takes great wisdom and courage to engage in gaming that glorifies our great God. This is the vision you want to give your children. The Christian life is much more about being strong and courageous in pursuit of glory than it is about trying to figure out what not to do.

 Let me know your thoughts and if you have any questions or additional things to consider.

Gaming: The Alternative (part 2)

Here is brief summary of the posts on gaming to date.

There are at least two defining biblical principles that can be applied to gaming:

1.  Gaming must not detract from a biblically productive life.

2.  Gaming, if it is to be done, must proceed from faith.

Proverbs 12:11 demonstrates that electronic gaming can definitely lead to a lack of productivity. ("¹¹ He who works his land will have abundant food, but he who chases fantasies lacks judgment." niv) The next issue, then, is to understand what drives the desire for gaming. This was examined in the post on gaming and pursuit. Finally, in the last post, we began to look at how to offer a biblical alternative. We’ll pick up that thought now.

Man was made to pursue greatness. If Adam had not sinned, our lives would have been completely productive and purposeful. Bringing honor to God would have been a 24/7 labor of delight and love. We all would have known each night the sweet sleep that follows productive days of hard work for God’s glory. Even to write these words is heartbreaking. I think of all the things that I could have done, and at times I am overwhelmed by the ravages of sin in this area of productivity. Sin has and is calling God’s people to a life that is counterproductive to God’s glory. Teenagers who are capable of great things are corrupted by games masquerading as meaningful pursuits. Adults who could be participating in adding to the reputation of God are instead captivated by chasing rabbit trails on Facebook and watching reality TV that is contrived to appeal to human vanities. What plagues the gamers often plagues their parents as well.

In the last post I suggested that we place gaming in the context of creation, the fall and redemption. It is only in this context that the real damage done by excessive gaming can be seen. Our culture is attempting with renewed vigor to rid itself of a Christian worldview. By stripping away the wonder of creation and the hope of redemption in Christ we are left with only the perspective of the fall. In our culture there is no appreciation for man as he was created, only as he is evolving. Thus, there is no need for redemption. Man’s fallen state has become the norm. In order to think biblically about life as Christians we must consider all three perspectives. What could life have been like? How has sin distorted what could have been? How does the redemptive work of Christ allow us to redeem that which was lost? Colossians 2:8 warns against being captivated by a worldview that considers only our fallen state. "See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ."

The human traditions of this world know only the perspective of the fall and, therefore, try to deceive us into thinking that man is not really fallen, but simply evolving. Yes, man is flawed, but he is getting better. Creation and redemption are ideals born of myth and oppressive religion. An evolving man has no need of a Savior and redemption; he will heal himself.

So what does this have to with gaming? Well, it explains many of the dark areas of electronic gaming. Themes of demons, hell and graphic violence are mixed together with themes of conquest and challenge. Sin is just dark fiction—not reality, and certainly not damning. So these themes are not wrong in themselves. There is no God to offend, only senses to stimulate. This is the result of living life without a true understanding of both creation and the fall. 

This understanding of the creation and the fall should help to answer a question asked by one reader. She asked for a concrete example of this statement: conformity to the world means to attempt to change the impact of the fall without the vision of creation. Here is an example as it relates to gaming. You see your teenager locked into gaming mode. You know he is consumed by the games that he plays. His schoolwork is suffering. He has no time for family or friends outside of his gaming milieu. If you look at the problem of too much gaming only from the perspective of the fall, you may offer a solution that is just as defective as the problem. If all you do is to limit the time spent on gaming or attempt to eliminate the games completely you haven’t addressed why he plays. You have only addressed how he plays. This is looking at the problem without the vision of creation.

 We are made to pursue great and meaningful things. But since the fall we naturally pursue things that please us rather than God. Some may pursue excellence in sports or the arts or business achievements. Others may pursue excellence in the escapist world of games. The gamer can’t tell the difference. And indeed, without living for the glory of God there isn’t much difference. As Ecclesiastes says, life without God is meaningless, empty and vain.

How do you help bring about change in your gamer? When the human drive for conquest and pursuit that has been fueled by intense gaming, trying to stop or redirect this drive is like trying to stop a runaway train. If you don't understand and address the reason this drive is so compelling, you will only frustrate both yourself and your teenager. But, if you can help him see biblically why gaming is so compelling, you may be able to help him see the dangers in gaming for what they truly are. The only truly satisfying alternative to the driving allure of gaming lies in the redemptive work of Christ.

Parents, before you can pass on this redemptive understanding to your teenagers, it must first be what drives you. You must have a clear vision that is shaped by the wonder of creation and the hope of redemption. This is where the second defining principle comes into play. To understand the redemptive work of Christ, you must first be driven by faith in Christ. We will take this up in the next post.

 

Gaming: The Alternative

Creation. Fall. Redemption. These are the great themes of humanity.  No, you won’t see these three themes given much status by  AP, CNN, USA Today, Fox News or for that matter, Rush Limbaugh. These are however, God’s themes. Creation speaks of the majestic plan and purpose of God for planet Earth. Then came the fall and all of mankind was plunged into darkness and pursuit of the glory of self rather than the glory of God. The stunning creature that was man, the creature that Psalm 8 speaks of, began to use his powerful  attributes in self-worship.  What has followed in human history has not been pretty. But, God in his mercy did not leave man in futile, evil darkness. He sent his son to bring both a new life and the newness of life, His Son Jesus brings the hope of redemption to sin-darkened minds and pursuits. 

Too  many Christians live in conformity to the world, that is we live as the fall were all that mattered. Conformity to the world means at least these two points. The first point is that conformity to the world means to attempt to change the impact of the fall without the vision of creation for what things could have been.  The second point is that conformity to the world means the attempt to change the impact of the fall apart from the redemptive power of Christ.  So, progress is measured by changes in behavior, not a growing love for Jesus Christ and his ways. This is what the world does – it manipulates behavior so that the impact of the fall will be less troublesome.  The world of the fall becomes “the real world”; creation and redemption are of no practical consideration. 

So, for example, when you consider the area of gaming it may seem wise to limit the time spent gaming as the solution to too much time spent on games.  This is living in light of the fall and not appreciating the magnificence of what we were created to be nor the power of redemption to be able to see God’s power in life and its pursuits.   So, we settle for manipulating behavior rather than challenging the heart.

This is what Colossians 2:8 warns about:

See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.

I want to move slowly here with this foundational material to provide time for you to think these things through. Let me know your thoughts and questions.  There will be practical applications to the gaming issue in the next post.

Gaming: The Pursuit

In the last post on gaming we looked at the difference between the pursuit of productivity and the pursuit of fantasy. The operative word here is pursuit. Proverbs 12:11 contrasts someone who productively works his land with someone who chases or pursues empty fantasies. Both individuals are in active pursuit of a goal. Sometimes the one chasing fantasies becomes obsessed with his pursuit, even though it is meaningless. This is true of hard-core gamers. Everything else in life becomes secondary—the game is the thing. While your children may not be at the level of the seriously hard-core, it is not difficult to see when the games pull them toward obsession. You may think to yourself, what is the big deal, can’t he see this is wasting his life? If only he could be this dedicated to do doing something that matters!

In order to understand the attraction of electronic gaming you must first understand that both the pursuit of things that are productive and the pursuit of things that are empty flow from the way that God made us. I can hear someone saying (even across cyberspace!) God didn’t make us to spend hours playing Grand Theft Auto! No, but he did create man in his own image and task him with the responsibility to subdue the earth and have dominion over its creatures.

 And God blessed them. And God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth." Genesis 1:28

Humans were created by God and instructed to subdue and dominate the creation. This command was pre-Fall. So this task, before sin, would have been carried out with wisdom, gentleness and with great energy! It would have been consuming in a good and wonderful way. Adam’s first tasks were to name the animals (a form of dominion in itself) and to guard and care for the garden. The idea of Adam and Eve wandering around the garden with nothing more to do than soak up the sunshine is not biblical. Rather, they were created in the image of God to develop and govern the earth itself, for the glory of God. What a breathtaking vocation!

Like so many other good things, sin corrupted this perfect, glorious pursuit and turned humans toward the pursuit of their own desires and pleasures. What started as a delight to the eye for Eve has become wanton lusting for eyes that have no concern for the honor of God. We see evidence of this selfish pursuit written in the blood stained pages of human history. We see humans driven to pursue personal glory no matter what the cost to them and to others. And yes, we see some driven to pursue the beckoning world of gaming, even if it costs them dearly in terms of relationships with others and productivity in the “real” world. The reality is that if man is not driven to pursue God’s glory, he will pursue his own, often not understanding fully why—not fully understanding that he was made with a drive to achieve and dominate.

The total sensory environment provided by today’s gaming world is seductively enticing. It entices the eyes and tempts the cravings of the flesh. With physical feedback—from joysticks and game controllers to surround sound, life-like graphics, and finally, to themes of escape and conquest—electronic gaming appeals to the way God made us. Gaming appeals to man’s ultimate function in life to subdue and to dominate. Of course, apart from the redemptive work of Christ, that purpose has become tragically distorted and perverted. Even Christians are tempted to pursue dominion for personal gain, quite apart from the glory of God. The reason the gamer is so enthralled by the games he plays is that he was made for the pursuit. Thus, the attraction is real. It is strong. It is captivating. At this level, the attraction is similar to the attraction of pornography. Man was also made to be a sexual being, but the Fall has corrupted that purpose as well. So tens of millions of people, young and old, are driven to pursue the world of online pornography instead of pursuing sex for the glory of God. Seduction works by offering to satisfy a valid, legitimate desire by illegitimate means. 

So, this is the first key to dealing with the power of gaming. Understand that we were made for pursuit, for dominion, for battle. However, because of our sin and depravity since the Fall, the natural inclination of our hearts is to battle against the purposes that God made us for. We battle for ourselves and the sinful cravings of the flesh (Ephesians 2:1-3). We were born as warriors for ourselves and for Satan, not for God.  Now, by God’s grace, Christians are called to fight against these things. Indeed, we must be better fighters than the world around us. In I Timothy 6, Paul urges Timothy to fight the good fight. The way to end the pursuit of gaming is to take up a different pursuit—the fight for the glory of God in all of life. Simply putting restrictions in place to limit gaming will only add fuel to a raging fire. The hard-core gamer is locked in a mortal battle, but it is not the one on his screen—it is the one in his heart.

Since people were designed by God to take up the fight for glory and dominion in a good way, that must be the alternative offered to your children and to those captivated by gaming. There is a better pursuit than the one offered by the gaming world. That is why we looked in a previous post at examining your children’s schedules. If there are large chunks of open time in a child's world, many voices will tempt him to empty, deceptive pursuits. Dame Folly calls loudly to those not driven by the pursuit of the glory of God. Simply saying no to gaming will not silence the seductive call of Folly.

Therefore, is all gaming bad? How do you instill purpose and drive for the glory of God that can compete with gaming? The answers are coming. Stay tuned.

 

Gaming & Chasing Fantasies

He who works his land will have abundant food,
  but he who chases fantasies lacks judgment. Proverbs 12:11

Let's look first at how gaming can detract from a productive life. As we do, consider this:  to the extent that gaming detracts from or lessens being productive, to that extent it must be avoided. Tremper Longman’s commentary on this Proverb captures the essence of the problem. Longman translates the phrase "...he who chases fantasies lacks judgment." with the phrase "...he who pursues emptiness lacks heart."

 

…The emphasis here is not so much on lack of exertion, but rather that energy is misdirected.He goes on to say that what is pursued in this situation lacks substance.  (Longman, 274)

In his commentary, Bruce Waltke says that the one who pursues fantasies has no sense. (Vol. 1, 528)

Longman is perceptive in focusing on misdirected energy rather than the game itself. Many gamers put a huge amount of time and energy into their gaming. Gamers are seriously committed to gaming, even if other, legitimate priorities suffer. The comparison here is with a farmer who thinks of other ways to get money, while neglecting his farm. Thus, instead of working his land, he schemes or chases fantasies and ends up without food for himself and his family. The farmer may think long and hard about acquiring money or about where he would rather be—but he will not be productive, and he will be hungry.

Electronic media has provided the occasion for many to be distracted from the work God has called them to and driven by fantasies instead. You don’t have to be a hard core gamer with the latest, most powerful computer to be drawn in. Hours can be wastd playing Solitaire or some other “low tech” game. The danger is that the energy spent in the pursuit of games—fantasies—will lead to a lack of productivity in areas where there is clear responsibility.

So the issue in gaming becomes pursuit of productive things rather than the pursuit of fantasies. Why not take time to evaluate the impact of gaming (broadly defined) on the lives of your children and those close to you? Think through these considerations:

In what areas is productivity being lost?

Is there a clear sense of meaning and purpose in the lives of your children? Or do they have large chunks of time that are seemingly discretionary?

Are there issues in their lives where they are unsettled and troubled?

What good things could be accomplished if less time were given to gaming?

Perhaps you can think of some additional considerations. In any event, think these things over and make some observations about them. We will get back to this in the next one or two posts.

Electronic Gaming

He who works his land will have abundant food,
    but he who chases fantasies lacks judgment. Proverbs 12:11

But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin. Romans 14:23

Electronic gaming is another one of those activities that is not mentioned by name in the Bible. Such  activities often cause problems for parents and children. We tend to want to find a verse somewhere that gives a thumbs up or down to our activities. We think it would be nice if Proverbs 35:10 said: It is okay to do gaming, but no more than 30 minutes a week, else you will be in great danger of losing your mind.  But God, in his infinite wisdom, did not provide a book with a list of rules for every possible situation. What he did provide is a book that teaches his people how to love him by applying principles. Yes, there are commandments, but these are meant to help us form principles for all of life as we obey them. So, for example, the Holy Spirit directs the apostle Paul to use the concerns of his day about eating meat offered to idols to form a principle that not only answered the immediate concern of his day, but applies to all of life for all time – whatever does not proceed from faith is sin. In one master stroke of wisdom, God provided a timeless principle relevant to all cultures, including ours. Just as we have seen in the Facebook series, God has much to say about an issue that is not mentioned by name in Scripture.

I believe there are at least two defining principles that have specific application to electronic gaming:

     1.  Gaming must not detract from a biblically productive life.

     2.  Gaming, if it is to be done, must proceed from faith.

We will make practical application of these principles in upcoming posts. But first I want to provide a little history about the gaming phenomena. In 1993 David Sheff wrote Game Over: How Nintendo zapped an American industry, captured your dollars, and enslaved your children (Random House).  As you can tell from the subtitle, the author had a problem with Nintendo. Sheff did not write from a Christian perspective, but from the perspective of an analyst of American business and culture.  He was angered and alarmed by the success of Nintendo and its impact on American culture. Shortly after the book was published, Nintendo lost its leadership role in the gaming industry, as Sony and Microsoft became serious rivals. Sheff chronicles the rise of how a Japanese company that began in the late 1800’s as a manufacturer of elaborate playing cards for leisure use in Japan became a gaming giant in America. As the family-run company grew, it tried its hand at various avenues to tap into the Japanese market for leisure dollars. The company moved beyond playing cards and dabbled in ventures such as instant rice, running a taxi cab company, and even prostitution. But they returned to the company’s initial vision of amusement in leisure time. The focus shifted from playing cards to toys. Nintendo had built a huge distribution network in Japan and they made full use of it. Eventually one of their employees began to explore toys that incorporated electronic devices, such as remote controlled cars. That led to using technology to place simple games on a TV-like screen. In 1981 Nintendo had it’s first major hit game – Donkey Kong. The rest is history. By 1990 their character Super Mario was more recognized by American children than Mickey Mouse.

Sheff draws this telling conclusion:

In the last part of the twentieth century, leaps in technology ushered in a new era in which children and a substantial part of the culture as a whole would be more influenced by interactive electronic media – in their simplest form, video games – than by television, which had defined the previous generation.

This insight is key to understanding the impact of gaming on our culture and your children. Interactive electronic media is a more precise term to help understand the gaming influence. This term also helps to illustrate the strong attraction of Facebook and other forms of social networking.

In all of this, living for the glory of God must be understood on a practical level. Because the church was not particularly concerned with video versions of tennis or a plump Italian plumber named Mario, we were unprepared for what would come. Bouncing white balls on a screen and a harmless looking plumber gave way to captivation by games like Doom and Grand Theft Auto. Parents and church leaders finally became alarmed, but it was too late—electronic gaming is here to stay.

Principles were ignored because the initial presentation didn’t seem so bad. Now, interactive electronic media is riding a wave of powerful technology that has the power to enslave and encourage rage, lust, and revenge in ways few thought possible. The Wii offers an even broader arena for interaction. If biblical principles are not carefully applied, the temptations that Wii type systems provide far outweigh previous forms of gaming.

The biblical response is to bring the power of the glory of God to bear on these pursuits, which for many are no longer merely a leisure pursuit. The seductive allure of interactive electronic media offers to define life itself for the avid gamer, at least temporarily. Nothing but the majesty and glory of God can turn your children from the attractions of a dazzling, compelling electronic world.

In the next post we will look at the danger of chasing fantasies.