Christ vs. Video Games

[Squips]

Hello! I’m looking for some advice, and hoping you all can help me. Also, apologies if this isn’t the right forum; not really a designated area for this type of thread.

Ever since about September of 2014, I’ve been very focused on World of Warcraft (not bordering on addiction, of course). A few months later, in July 2015, I started really paying attention to God. Now that’s it summer again, most of my time will be divided up between WoW and God.

The thing is, I spend probably about an hour praying, but on average I’ve been playing four hours of WoW a day - and that’s not counting raid nights. A lot of the time I spend playing is doing extra stuff; not stuff that I absolutely have to do to stay a top-notch player.

Any ideas to cut back on gaming? Also, ideas for something that I could add to my prayer life? I already pray the Rosary and Divine Mercy Chaplet, and read two chapters of the Bible daily, as well as several minutes of prayer in my own words. As long as I don’t have to leave the house, any extra work I could do for God would be great. Any advice is welcome; thank you!

 

[LittleFlower378]

Everyone needs some time for leisure activities. So you want to have leisure time but in a healthy way not a selfish way. So if WOW is taking you away from duties that are necessary then it could become a problem.

Personally I try not to horse around with games that involve magic and the such. I do love baseball and play time consuming simulation baseball games along with watching baseball and coaching softball. It would be nice to get into something a little different as well. The best leisure time though is the time spent quiet with the Lord.

You can try to pray the Liturgy of the Hours to sanctify your day.

 

[Melodeonist]

Why not pray while playing video games? After all, the Bible tells us to pray without ceasing.

I pray when I am doing poorly in video games. I also pray when I need help with something.

 

[Betuchan]

Hello there!
I am in to and play WoW in a big way too!!
I think the danger in this comes from if it takes you away from God ie you skip church to play but it doesn’t sound like this is the case for you.

I think the biggest danger does come from the “normalizing” of demonic things that are in the game, I don’t think that means we can’t play, I think it’s just important to understand a lot of the subtle and sometimes hidden occultism in the game.

As an example I feel for someone who knows nothing about our religion and the church seeing things like warlocks and demon summoning are quite obviously not of God. But then there are a lot of more hidden things like symbols and themes.

I think it’s important to be aware of them and not let the game trick you in to feeling “ok with” these things. In saying that I do have many alts a warlock, several DKs, mages, etc. I just stay guarded against the deeper meaning of them. I don’t play because I secretly want to act like that in real life etc I have those classes because I wanted to have at least one of every class at max level and I play mainly for pets mounts and transmog.
The things that concern me are people who play and who have no knowledge of God. This game teaches them of many (false) God’s, ritual summoning etc. I’ve even heard/seen people say things like “praise be to elune”. I know it sounds silly they aren’t really believing in the night elf “God” but to hear anyone even in a mocking way worshiping a false God is concerning.

I did read a thread on the WoW forums a while back about guilds who believed in God and it was refreshing to hear that there were and are many of us who believe in God who still play.

If you ever want to chat etc in game my btag is Tibby#1555

 

[Squips]

I don’t particularly have necessary duties, other than going to Church and whatnot, so that’s not really an issue for me, fortunately. I do pray occasionally while playing, but there’s a lot of stuff going on in WoW, and all at the same time, too. It’s unfortunately difficult to focus on God when all that’s happening.

As for the Liturgy of the Hours suggestion, from what I’ve seen it seems like a pretty big prayer. Something I don’t want to do at this point is make promises to God by praying such formal prayers (if there are any). Thanks for the suggestion, though, and I will definitely look into a bit more!

I am in to and play WoW in a big way too!!

Nice to see another player! Yeah, I am careful with the demonic images and stuff, try not to look at 'em for too long. Although I will admit, I am looking forward to getting around to rolling a warlock for the first time. Looks like a fun class.

 

[LaetenturCaeli]

Any ideas to cut back on gaming?

I appreciate video games to some extent, and my wife is a bit of a gamer. But to me, four hours a day is a little over the top. An hour or two every few days is more than sufficient, and if a particular game requires more of a time investment, then chuck it.

If you’re having a visceral reaction right now to the idea of throwing it out completely, there may be a sign of something there. Games like WoW are addiction-machines and time vampires. There’s plenty of other options that require much less time.

I don’t know how old you are, but to be quite honest, if I were you I’d get a little summer job.

You say leaving your house is out of the question, but physically working and getting a bit of cash would be a much better way to spend your time.

 

[Squips]

If you’re having a visceral reaction right now to the idea of throwing it out completely, there may be a sign of something there. Games like WoW are addiction-machines and time vampires.

I wouldn’t want to completely stop playing WoW. Like I said, it’s not that I’m addicted, but it’s more that WoW is pretty much the only game I feel comfortable playing right now. Besides that, I’ve been playing on and off ever since I was six years old. I’ve grown up with this game and there’s a lot of emotional attachment for me. Not to mention, I also have obligations to my raid team (which includes a couple family members). Throwing out the game isn’t something I’d want to particularly consider - at least for now, what with the boredom of summer looming on the horizon.

You say leaving your house is out of the question, but physically working and getting a bit of cash would be a much better way to spend your time.

Heh heh, I was kind of hoping not to bring up age in this discussion, but I am fairly young. Where I live, it’d actually be illegal for an employer to hire me right now.

 

[BChartowski]

Video games can be enjoyable and, to some extent, can offer some social interaction. Of much more value, however, especially for someone who is young, would be to maybe join a sports team or get involved in a summer camp, or scouting-type activity (doesn’t have to be scouts specifically). Learning some useful life-skills while getting to spend some time in the beautiful world that God has given us is very enjoyable and satisfying. This isn’t to say that you should never play games, but the rewards of a life outside in the world are far greater than can be expressed by my inadequate words. I wish you all the best and God’s blessings!