Gaming and Godliness, Part 2
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Read Part 1.
Counsel
Church leaders should exhort everyone to “[k]eep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life” (Prov. 4:23). People must be reminded that due to Adam’s Fall, the natural heart of all mankind “is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked, who can know it?” (Jer. 17:9). Out of it now proceeds “evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies,” disobedience to authorities, covetousness, ingratitude, and a love for pleasure rather than a love for God (Matt. 15:19, II Tim. 3:4). Some people may not gravitate to the exact same sins as another (Is. 53:6) or commit the most egregious transgressions possible, but “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23), warranting His just wrath.
But “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). He now calls all those who come unto Him to “present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but by ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Rom. 12:1-2).
It pleased God to have His prophets and apostles record these words (and many others) in the Scriptures (II Tim. 3:16, II Pet. 1:21, Heb. 1:1), and to have His appointed ministers proclaim them in local churches (I Cor. 1:21) through songs, prayers, readings, teachings, and sermons. To accomplish the latter faithfully, ministers will speak in the vernacular tongue (I Cor. 14:9) but in a manner that is committed not just to “the ideas of truth expressed in the Bible but also the way those ideas are imagined through Scripture’s various aesthetic forms.” They will not therefore “handl[e] the word of God deceitfully” (II Cor. 4:2) “with enticing words of man’s wisdom” (as an entertainer would), “but in demonstration of the Spirit and power” (I Cor. 2:4), they will exposit the Scriptures with “reverence and godly fear” (Heb. 12:28, Neh. 8:8, II Tim. 2:15, 4:2). Ministers know that natural men, blinded by Satan and sin, cannot “endure [such] sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths” (II Tim. 4:3, ESV, cf. I Cor. 2:14). But godly ministers will faithfully and lovingly persevere in their callings, knowing that some of the seed of their ministry will fall on good ground, bearing forth fruit in due season (Ps. 1:3, Luke 8:15).1
Guard
Church leaders should remind inquirers that in light of these truths, they cannot take a laissez-faire approach to video games lest they lose their own souls or those under their care (Matt. 16:26). At a minimum, they should institute guardrails to help keep their affections on things above (Col. 3:2). They should consider setting a maximum amount of playing time per day, per week, or per month (the smaller amount of time, the better), never allowing binge gaming or gaming before or after certain hours to ensure sufficient sleep and the sanctity of the Lord’s Day (Ex. 20:8, Is. 58:13, Heb. 10:25). They may also wish to place all gaming devices out in public view in their homes, never isolated in private bedrooms (John 3:20-21). Adults should also make it a priority for their children to spend a heavy amount of time away from games, with real people in the real world (especially older, wiser adults; cf. Titus 2, James 1:27), never with strangers online. They may also wish to institute an other-things-first policy, where their children are required to do more constructive, age-appropriate activities (i.e. cooking, cleaning, sewing, gardening, fishing, hiking, reading, drawing, outdoor play, imitative play, car maintenance, practicing a musical instrument, etc.)2 before partaking of a video game.
They should also insure that the content of each game played is in accordance with Scripture, particularly Philippians 4:8: “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” Video games are, more than almost any other medium, visceral and participatory (even if disembodied), which should cause Christians to be ever more guarded against explicit and gratuitous depictions of lurid violence, eroticism, immorality, scatological realism, occultism, gambling, etc. (Deut. 18:10-12, Lev. 20:6, Ps. 1:1, 11:5, Matt. 5:28, Rom. 3:15, I Cor. 15:33).3
Abstain
If an inquirer knows or fears that any amount of gaming will make him, or those under his care, unfit for their God-given responsibilities (civil, scholastic, familial, occupational, or ecclesiastical, cf. I Cor. 6:12), he should be advised toward complete abstinence, taking to heart Christ’s words: “if thine eye [causes thee to sin], pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire” (Matt. 18:9).4 If he already owns games and consoles, he may wish to sell them or throw them away. If he has digital devices which he believes are necessary for other activities,5 he may desire to institute password protections on gaming apps to block usage. He may also ask others to hold him accountable. He will still need times of rest and recreation, but he will want to engage in activities that he knows will better enhance his service for Christ.
Fast
If an inquirer is unsure how gaming (will) affects him or those under his care, church leaders should encourage him and his family to do more reading on the subject from the resources listed in these articles.6 Furthermore, if an inquirer, or his family members, already participate in gaming but do not understand its power (which, unbeknownst to them, is often the case), wise counselors should recommend a gaming fast for 1-4 weeks (the longer, the better). During this time, the inquirer and his family can engage in other activities and chronicle their lives without gaming. Some may find nothing amiss in their souls, and return afterwards to the moderate gaming they already had (or they may decide they have no more use for it, having found more profitable things to redeem their time with; Eph. 5:16). Some, though, may discover that gaming has become a kind of god:
in the sense that [they] believe [that it] works, that they rely on it, that it makes promises, that they are bereft when denied access to it, that they are delighted when they are in its presence, that … it works in mysterious ways, that they condemn people who speak against it, that they stand in awe of it, and that, in the born-again mode, they will alter their lifestyles, their schedules, their habits, and their relationships to accommodate it.7
They may also say that the true God, His faithful servants, and His biblically-mandated worship are boring, legalistic, elitist, and outdated. If gamers find such feelings welling up within them, they should respond quickly by repenting and getting rid of their idol (Acts 19:18-19). The longer they delay, the more likely the old god will regain control of their lives and rekindle the embers of their gaming addiction for the worse (Matt. 12:45).
Consider
Lastly, church leaders should warn everyone about placing stumblingblocks in front of others (Matt. 18:6, I Cor. 8:9). While some may feel that they can play games in moderation, many cannot. Former and current addicts do not need anything that could tempt them to sin. Christians also should not pressure anyone to play a game who does not want to (or who does not have permission). They also should be wary about introducing things that could turn out to be hazardous to others, but rather should endorse time-tested activities that are proven to foster greater growth in godliness.
Conclusion
As church leaders can see, both knowledge and wisdom are necessary to answer questions about video games. Pastors and elders need to know what games are, what effects they can have, what proclivities inquirers (and their children) have, and what the Scriptures say. By careful study and prayer, godly counselors can diagnose the situation for each inquirer and advise them how they may best love God and their neighbor with their time, talent, and treasure (Matt. 22:36-40, Luke 12:34, I Cor. 6:19-20, I Cor. 10:31).
Notes
1 Scott Aniol, “Preserving the Truth in Our Worship,” Preserving the Truth Conference (2011), 3. American Council of Christian Churches, “Resolution on Video Games” (October 22-24, 2024): https://accc4truth.org/2024/11/18/video-games/. Rick Warren failed to see the difference between intelligibility and sensibility, and advocated for a pragmatic approach to Christian ministry. Gillian Flaccus and Associated Press, “Mega-church pastor tailors message to MTV generation,” East Bay Times (March 26, 2005): https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2005/03/26/mega-church-pastor-tailors-mess…. David de Bruyn wisely perceived: “If the object of [a person’s] approval, which he calls Jesus, evokes the same affections as other forms of entertainment [i.e. video games and rock concerts], it stands to reason that the object of [that person’s] approval is another form of entertainment… . If the object of his approval were in an entirely different class of object (the transformative kind), he” would express “far loftier” sentiments. de Bruyn, “Jesus So Totally Rocks,” Towards Conservative Christianity (March 2, 2010): https://conservativechristianity.wordpress.com/2010/03/02/jesus-so-tota….
2 Richard Louv, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder (Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2008), 137-138. Anthony Esolen, “Keep Your Children Indoors as Much as Possible,” in Ten Ways to Destroy the Imagination of Your Child (Wilmington, DE: ISI Books, 2010), 27-46.
3 Ron Horton, “Christian Educational Censorship,” in Christian Education: Its Mandate and Mission (Greenville, SC: Bob Jones University Press, 1992), 45-70.
4 Lachlan Cumming Vass, Amusements and the Christian Life in the Primitive Age and in Our Day (Philadelphia, PA: Presbyterian Board of Publication, 1884), 76.
5 Many would seriously question the necessity of mobile devices for children, as they, of all people, are the least prone to seeing its dangers (cf. Prov. 22:15).
6 See also Richard Steele, A Remedy for Wandering Thoughts in Worship (Harrisonburg, VA: Sprinkle Publications, 2003), Thomas Goodwin, The Vanity of Thoughts (Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage Books, 2024), Matthew Henry, “Sober-Mindedness Pressed Upon Young People,” in The Complete Works of Matthew Henry (1855; repr., Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1979), I:58-82, and Douglas Groothius, The Soul in Cyber-Space (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1997).
7 Neil Postman, The End of Education: Redefining the Value of School (New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 1995), 38. See also Jonathan Haidt, The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness (New York, NY: Penguin House, 2024), 190-191.
Jonathan Peters Bio
Jonathan W. Peters is an administrative assistant at Reformation Bible Church and Harford Christian School in Darlington, Maryland.
Thanks for your thoughts on this!
In general, I see the category/genre as being kind of intensified interactive cinema. Increasingly, the same people who make a lot of the bits and pieces that go into movies also make the bits and pieces that go into games: special effects, voice acting, music, sound engineering, animation.
Both cinema/video and gaming have a lot in common with books. But also lots of differences, obviously. Mainly, in the user experience end, there is so much more intensity and direct sense-involvement with film and games. Games take that sense-involvement a step further, because you’re physically interacting with the narrative, sight, and sound. Comparing a really strongly written action/suspense novel, the experience can be quite immersive, but your own brain is providing more of the immersive world, and it’s build from the inside out. In film and game, it’s built from the outside in.
The experience is far from passive, though, in my admittedly limited experience. Your brain is still doing a lot when immersed in a game. But it’s a different “a lot” vs. a novel. Compared to an action movie, the “a lot” is not very different. You just don’t get carpel tunnel from watching a movie!
But the biggest difference in gaming vs. film and books is the interactive layer: you are not just immersed in the narrative, you are helping create it. You are interacting with it, so you are “in the story” in a whole new way.
The ethics of it is a bit complex, as Jonathan’s articles show. But to me the general shape of the ethics is very similar to a lot of other “consumable experiences” Christians should evaluate thoughtfully. What does my involvement mean? What is my involvement doing to me? What is it doing to other people? These are huge starting points and cover a lot of ground.
Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.
As I look at video games, my thought is about the same as when my kids want to watch a movie, especially when my 14 year old son might be involved. "Have you visited imdb?" when it's a movie--I always go to the "Internet Movie Database" and consult the parents' guide. Is what I'm going to see really worth it?
Same thing with video games. You can see what they're about online, and ask yourself whether one wants to practice the kind of behaviors involved. Minecraft? OK as far as I've seen with my son. "Grand Theft Auto"? Let's have a talk.
Aspiring to be a stick in the mud.
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