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Are you keeping the TEN COMMANDMENTS While Gaming?
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Exodus 20:13 “You shall not murder.” Now we are getting into the
nitty gritty. We are getting into the meat of the subject. How
many of us gamers avoid killing within video games? How many of
us murder one another inside games? Remember God does not accept
a difference between thinking about doing something, and
actually doing it. In God's standard if you think about it, you
are guilty of doing it. So what do you think about when you are
shooting someone in the head in a first person shooter? Are you
thinking how much you care about that person and want them to
have blessings and a prosperous life? Or are you thinking you
are going to kill them? If you are killing inside video games
then you have broken this commandment.
Exodus 20:14 “You shall not commit adultery.” What is adultery?
It is having sexual relations with someone other than your
husband or wife. Jesus took that definition even further.
Matthew 5:28 “But I say to you, That whoever looks on a woman to
lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his
heart.” So if we look at women busting out of their clothing,
and bouncing all around with lust in our hearts we are
committing adultery. We are breaking this commandment. Plenty of
games use women as eye candy. Plenty of games show women as
objects of sex for men to look at. Do you stumble in this area
of your life? Do you enjoy looking at these women? If so, then
you are violating this commandment.
Exodus 20:15 “You shall not steal.” This seems pretty simple,
and pretty straightforward right?
But is it? One of the most notorious game franchises is Grand
Theft Auto. Like it sounds you go around stealing. You steal
inside this video game a lot. Anyone committing the act of
stealing within any video game is breaking this commandment.
Again God was clear on this, when we think about doing something
we are doing it. Why would anyone with a sane mind want to
fantasize about stealing? Don't you know the pain and damage you
cause to the person who owns that property? How can you
rationalize causing such pain?
Exodus 20:16 “You shall not give false testimony against your
neighbor.” You will probably know this better as: “Do not lie.”
In other words tell the truth. Think about it in this legal
terminology: “tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but
the truth, so help you God.” How many games out there have us
participate in lies? The game designers and developers do not
see the truth as dramatic, or as funny. By doing so they are
having us participate in the breaking of this commandment.
Exodus 20:17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You
shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female
servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your
neighbor.” What is coveting? It is wanting something that
someone else has. What scares me most about our industry is how
much coveting goes on. Someone wants a game, or a character, or
certain DLC, or skills. It goes on and on. Sometimes I think one
of the foundations of the video game industry is coveting. The
companies try and make us covet the games they have coming out.
We play them, and they want us to covet more. Being content with
what you have is a mark of maturity. Be happy with what you
have.
I know this article has been heavy. The Holy Spirit weighed it
upon my heart, and my brain. I faithfully obeyed what I was told
to write about. This has been a rough article for me to write.
Why? I realized something very important while writing this – I
am not always keeping the Ten Commandments while I play video
games. It is something I need to work on in my life. I hope you
found this article helpful, interesting, thought provoking, and
useful. It is my personal hope and prayer that this article will
be used to open eyes, and change hearts.
God bless,
Paul Bury
Family Friendly Gaming
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