“Hold The Pwn”

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

I have a question about playing video games (for example, war games that involve killing people to win war battles).  I know that these are just games, and I do like to play them, and I do not take them seriously.  I asked someone that was part of a church before, and he told me that it was not the same thing as a sin and that it was okay to play war games.  I think I might be taking sin too far when I think that I should not even play a video game, but I would like to know your opinion on the subject.

Sincerely, Pixel Killer

Dear Pixel Killer,

Playing video games is like many other forms of recreation – they are not inherently wrong, but they certainly can become wrong if abused. War video games come in all shapes and sizes. Some are ridiculously bloody and violent, others only moderately so. It isn’t wrong for a christian to enjoy playing battle-type games any more than it is wrong for boys to play “cops and robbers” in the backyard. The key to the whole thing is wisdom. It takes wisdom to decide when a video game has “crossed the line” into dark and disturbing realms. Video games like Grand Theft Auto (which portrays prostitution, theft, domestic violence, etc.) certainly qualify to be labeled as sinful, but not all video games are of that character.

Being a soldier isn’t an inherently sinful thing. John the Baptist taught that soldiers can be godly and that military life can be led righteously (Lk 3:14). So pretending to be a soldier while playing a video game isn’t inherently wrong either. The key is to make sure that you aren’t filling your mind with evil or dwelling upon ungodliness. God wants us to contemplate pure things (Php 4:8) and set our minds on heavenly, godly things (Col 3:2). Examine yourself and your habits to see whether that is the case for you (1 Cor 11:29-31).

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