Dennis Frohlich is a guest author on "Everyday, ordinary worship" and will be hosting a program called “The
Cultural Impact of Video Games” for parents on Wednesday, November 6th, at Trinity
United Methodist Church. During this program, he’ll explain what the research
says about the harmful effects of video games, explain how the video game ratings
system works, and offer suggestions for how parents can stay informed about the games their kids are playing.
Can God be glorified by playing video
games?
Before I attempt to answer this question, a little
introduction is in order. My name is Dennis Frohlich, and I am a doctoral
candidate at the University of Florida studying mass communication. Recently I talked
with the Trinity United Methodist pastoral team about doing an educational
program for parents about video games. Pastor Aaron asked me to write a short
reflection about glorifying God through video games. This is a topic I think
about a lot, so I appreciate the opportunity to do this.
Video games have been a huge part of my life ever since I
was five or six. I’ve been playing for over 20 years and have spent countless
hours mastering so many games I can’t keep track of them all.
A few years ago, I was trying to explain to my friend, a
fellow Christian, why I enjoyed video games and how I thought they were
beneficial to my faith. He dismissed my explanation and thought I was just
trying to justify mindless entertainment. Maybe so. After studying mass
communication in school for the past decade, it’s natural that I reflect a lot
on my media consumption. As a Christian, I am constantly endeavoring (often
unsuccessfully) to point my life to God.
I played video games for about 10 years before I found Christ.
At first, my Christian faith didn’t have much effect on the kinds of games I
played or the way I played games. But slowly, God has been molding me after His
image, so I think it’s possible that at least some of the games I play are
glorifying to God. If He were beside me on the couch, I think He might even
like playing video games with me.
Glorifying God
through activities
As a young Christian, I often got mixed up trying to get
answers to very specific questions: whether it’s right or wrong to play video
games was one such question. After all, the Bible says nothing about video
games. When approaching topics like this, wiser Christians than me have always
encouraged me to seek out the foundational principles that order the entirety
of our lives.
I’ve been taught then, and I think this is true, that
activities and behaviors in and of themselves are neither good nor
evil—excluding, of course, those things the Bible explicitly lists as sins.
Christians are allowed to partake in secular activities, then, as long as they
don’t cause us to stumble or we don’t cause others to stumble through those
activities (Paul discusses this fully in 1 Corinthians 8, the chapter about
food sacrificed to idols).
All secular activities, then, present us with an opportunity
to glorify God or to turn away from God. People can glorify God through music,
for instance, but they can also rebel against God through music. As I’ve grown
in my faith, I’ve learned that many activities can be glorifying to God, even
if I don’t understand how.
Take sports, for instance. Growing up, I was never
interested in sports, especially team sports. I didn’t understand the appeal of
playing them or watching them, and I even thought they were a waste of time. I
definitely fit the stereotype of a gamer that’d rather spend hours playing video
games than sports. I can’t think of a single athlete that I look up to or
admire, though I can think of several game designers, like Shigeru Miyamoto.
Over time, I’ve slowly gained an appreciation for sports as
a godly activity, mostly through talking with Christian athletes. Many of my
friends have told me how playing sports radically changed their lives. These
athletes speak of the many virtues they learned on and off the field, such as
the importance of practice, dedication, perseverance, teamwork, cooperation,
leadership, and developing a sound mind and body. Christian athletes speak of
glorifying God by giving the best performance they can, by trying their hardest
to succeed and trusting God with the results.
I take them at their word. Sports can be glorifying to God,
but they aren’t inherently so. They can be turned into an idol just like
anything else.
In the same way, playing video games can teach people
valuable lessons, lessons that God can use in many different ways.
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| My giant watering can, part of my Minecraft world. |
What God has taught
me through video games
When I think of glorifying God, I am reminded of Paul’s
words to the Corinthians: “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do
all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31, ESV). This isn’t to say every
time I’ve played video games I’ve glorified God: that one time I killed over
2,000 soldiers in the Facility level of GoldenEye 007 was probably a bit
excessive.
Here’s just a sampling of the lessons I’ve been taught
through games:
- Super Mario Bros. for the NES taught me the
importance of practice and patience. This was the first game we owned, and I
cut my teeth on this game.
- The Legend of Zelda series taught me about
exploration and gave me a sense of wonder about the world. I learned that
discovering the world’s secrets was a joy in itself.
- Tetris taught me the importance of staying
organized under pressure.
- The Final Fantasy series has shown me the
realities of war and oppression. The characters in these games taught me that
through determination, teamwork, and patience, evil can be overcome in the
world.
- SimCity taught me how to manage a large-scale
operation, an entire city, and how to respond to crises when they arise.
- Warcraft II and StarCraft taught me how to
manage my resources, both time and treasure, lessons I continue to apply as I
schedule my week and budget my money.
- Pokemon taught me the importance of sharing.
- Donkey Kong Country, Yoshi’s Island, Kirby’s
Epic Yarn, and many other games showed me how visuals, audio, and gameplay can
create works of art. These games have evoked emotions in me and moved me in
ways most other art cannot.
- Minecraft has fostered a deep sense of
creativity in me, and provides me the tools to shape and reshape an electronic
world, instilling in me just a bit of joy that God must feel when He creates
the universe.
- Many games—like Contra, Interstate ‘76, Top Gear
Rally, Zombies Ate My Neighbors, Mario Kart 64, and Super Smash Bros.
Melee—have deepened relationships with my brother, cousins and close friends.
I
could go on and on. Some games were with me during certain points of my life
and were crucial to my development. These games—like WWF Attitude, Paperboy 2,
and Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire—aren’t always fun in retrospect, and some
I haven’t played in years.
Other
games stick with me for a long time and continue to influence the person I am
today. For example, something resonates with me about the Triforce in the
Legend of Zelda series, which is composed of Wisdom, Power, and Courage. While
the game isn’t Christian by any stretch (the world of Hyrule was created by
three ancient goddesses), I think Christian truths are embodied in the
character Link, who possesses the Triforce of Courage and willingly accepts his
calling to fight the evil Ganondorf, even though the mission is incredibly
challenging and offers him no rewards.
If
you have any stories to share about how video games have benefited you, or ways
you think video games can glorify God, please reply to this post and share with
others!
~Dennis
