The Tennis Match in My Brain

A Theology of Video Games - Part 4

Sometimes I wonder if I’m an addict.

I use that word with a more social and nuanced connotation, rather than a clinical definition.

Specifically, I’ve always been pretty belligerent when it comes to telling myself “no” to media. When my pastor suggested I create a life rule where I don’t watch any “R” rated movies, my wife was subjected to weeks of tangents from me that floated somewhere in the vein of logical analysis and self-entitled justifications.

When, years later, my wife wondered aloud why I was in my mid-twenties and still playing video games, she was subjected to similar weeks of me going on and on about how video games in-and-of-themselves aren’t a “problem” and I just enjoy the “art and story” and yada yada.

Sometimes I envy that pastor. He was able to remove whole sections of art and entertainment from his life and only shrug.

That’s just not something I can do. Or may not something I will do.

Or maybe something I just don’t want to do.

It’s all sort of confusing.

In fact, here’s a self-indulgently long foray into my thoughts (let me know if these thoughts echo your own).

The Tennis Match That Won’t End

One one hand, I want to stay engaged in the media I’m passionate about and prone to. What I mean is, playing video games as a hobby allows me to minister in a way I’m not sure I could otherwise.

A number of Christian men have talked to me over the years about the “lines” with video games in relationship to their spiritual walk and their stage of life because they’ve been in my home and saw my Xbox by the TV. Realizing I’m a halfway decent husband and father who loves Jesus and am working slowly through a Baldur’s Gate 3 campaign opens up a lot of discipleship.

Yet, we all know the “I need to keep playing video games to do ministry” excuse is crap. The Holy Spirit isn’t sitting there prodding me to sit in front of the TV because His work will be hindered if I don’t pick up a controller. That’s poor theology and more than a little delusional.

Still, it doesn’t mean the Holy Spirit doesn’t intend to use what I enjoy as I offer it up to Him (insert this current series on a Theology of Video Games). So, even my video game hobby can be used for God’s glory… right?

But I know, when I am really honest with myself, that I don’t play video games exclusively to honor God. I do it, because I like them. But admitting that makes me feel like a heathen and seems to bring a surface level conclusion that I should quit playing games and use my newfound time to pray, study my Bible, or feed the homeless.

Except, no one seems to have this same struggle over reading fiction books or watching movies. Where is the intervention for the guy who will watch six to eight hours of sports this weekend, literally shifting his family’s whole schedule around the time so and so plays so and so?

A Sober Truth

There probably should be an intervention for Christians deeply embedded in sport’s culture and game times, but that isn’t for me and this article.

Like alcohol, video games really are fine… up to a point. And then there is a point in which the hobby has gone too far and the person in question is no longer an accurate judge of what is “good” and “bad” for themselves. Our motives become cloudy and confused, and we begin to lie to ourselves and others.

Quick signs you’re in problematic territory (even if not clinical addiction, which I am not expert on and can’t speak to):

• You get uncomfortable when someone brings up the idea of stopping playing video games.

• You play more than three or four times a week.

• You won’t fast long periods of time.

• You play games you know aren’t good for you and shrug off that guilty feeling that nags at you.

I’m sure there are logical exceptions to every one of the above. The exceptions probably have to do with career professionals in game design, esports, or something along those lines.

Almost certainly not you.

For you and I, we have to cultivate a life that is welcoming to the Spirit in all areas. And, the good news is, God enjoys entering into our hobbies alongside us and redeeming them. Woodworking, watching sports, playing video games, reading fiction, hiking, skateboarding, basket weaving… whatever. God enjoys human endeavors of creativity and leisure.

The thing is, we all know that when we invite God truly into our hobbies and life He’s liable to wreck the whole system of how we engage with those leisures in a way that conforms to His Kingdom.

For some, He’ll remove video games entirely and never desire for you to return. I’m not sorry for you, I’m excited for you. He’ll remove that idol and give you something wonderful instead. Throw away your TV if it’s even a small barrier between you and God. What is anything worth in comparison to knowing God?

For others, video games aren’t an idol but in the category of hobby that needs to be conformed to Him. Go ahead and take a month off (see my last post referencing fasting). After that month, you’ll have more clarity on what moving forward looks like for you.

Next week, we talk parenting.

This is part 4 in a series on “A Theology of Video Games”. To see part 1, click here.