World of Warcraft

N

Nuggen

New Member
Hello,

It's been a long time since I played WoW, and during this period I've held a very negative view of it, as it used to control my life. I've never felt the urge to play it for a long time, but now, for some reason, it has seemed to resurface.These thoughts were almost triggered by a sequence of dreams I've had, usually involving me playing the game and enjoying it even though when I wake up I wonder why I did so due to my negative view of the game. The most recent one involved words flashing across a wall calling me back to play WoW. No offence to all the Christian, strong WoW players out there as I know y'all are mature enough to handle such a game, but I am really starting to feel uncomfortable.

To all the Christian WoW players, would you say your experiences with the game have caused any problems or barriers in praying or speaking to God?
Can there be playing for fun without it dominating your life?

Sorry to take up so much of your time with the wall of text,
Have a good day,
God Bless,
Nuggen
 
Hey. Wow, that's an odd set of dreams. I'd say that I've never had issues praying or speaking to God that were connected to WoW. And yes, if you're watchful, you can play it without it dominating your life. How is a bit more complicated, but I'd say "with self-discipline."

For example:
1. When I was a younger, newer WoW player I wasn't very good at knowing when I was being balanced or not. So I purposely never turned down an invitation from a friend wanting to see if I wanted to do something "IRL" outside of WoW. If I felt like not going, I credited that to WoW until such time as I could tell apart an activity that I didn't want to go to because it cut down WoW time from one I didn't want to go to because I didn't like the idea. Nowadays, I still make a point of going to the former.
2. WoW should never supersede church, family, job, or education. Sure, I play WoW at school all the time -- but only after I've done my readings, homework, and anything else I have to do.
3. If playing WoW is an escape for you, something that you do to prevent you from doing serious stuff, that's bad. Likewise, if WoW becomes a second job for you, that's also bad.


Now, as to the dreams -- who am I to say what they mean? I mean, they could be simply subconscious desires coming to light, or they could be God calling you to play the game for Him, or they could be demonic in nature -- and I can't tell you which. My advice is to seek God's advice on the matter. He knows, and he can tell you.
 
Hey, thanks for the really thoughtful reply. I was about to get my flame resistant suit on:).

I'm not too sure about how to ask God, to be honest. I wasn't raised in such a way or taught how. For me, asking God up to this day has been opening random Bible pages to try and almost 'divine' His will. I'm just beginning to realize this is wrong.

And about playing it for God, do you really think that such a thing can happen and have you heard of anyone experiencing such a calling from Him?

Thanks alot,
God bless,
Nuggen
 
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Yours truly. Now, mind you, that might not look like what you think it looks like. But I know that when I'm playing WoW -- usually, mind you -- I am in the center of God's will for my life.

Not that it's his entire will for my life. I also get that sense when I'm at university.
 
Hey thanks again for replying.:)

If you wouldn't mind me asking, would you find that you have had many opportunities to witness to non-believers while playing?

And also, would have any particular books, advice or Bible verses to refer me to to help me to discern God's will if I need to ask him something, in any situation?

Have a great day,
God bless,
Nuggen
 
Hi Nuggen,

I don't post outside of the Redeemed forums much, but this caught my eye. First, let me give you some background:

I've been playing video games since I was about 10 years old. First, it was Atari, then Nintendo. In my early teens, I had my bedroom right next to our basement family game room. After "going to bed", I'd sneak to the family room and play video games til after midnight, with school the next day! This continued for quite some time until I was finally caught and the games were moved upstairs :P

In my late teens, my family got our first computer. We didn't have the internet yet, but I took to playing the one-player games that came with it, and also ended up buying a couple. It was about this time that I got a Nintendo 64, and was amazed at how they could make games where you could move in all three dimensions - having grown up on platform games, this blew my mind! I played Mario 64, Zelda, and such other games religiously. MarioKart 64 was my art. I have yet to find anyone that can beat me at that game (consistently). During this time, although I probably played too much, I played with friends and family (my mom was second only to me at MarioKart 64), and I feel that games actually brought us closer together.

Then I went off to college. Although it pain me to say it, video games RUINED my college career. Although I did still graduate, I had the lowest grades possible to do so and not get kicked out. Here's how it happened: I was still getting a big kick out of the whole 3-d game experience on my 64. When I arrived at college, I was introduced to Halflife, Halflife multiplayer on our college LAN, and Counterstrike. Combine this with not having anyone to tell me I shouldn't be playing, and that I should be doing my schoolwork, and it was a BAD combination. I was not yet mature enough to set these priorities for myself.

For a change of pace during my third year of Counterstrike, um, I mean college, I started my first MMORPG. A cute little java game called Runescape. I had no idea what I was doing at first, but once I got the hang of it, I LOVED it. Between that and CS, my free time was filled. I had very little time for friends or schoolwork. Barely passing or failing classes, I finally made it through college in about 5 1/2 years, when I should have been through in 4.

Upon my return to my parents' house (early 20's at this point), I set up my computer, tv, internet, and stereo in my room and hardly ever came out. By this time, I had increased my games to Runescape, N64 games, online games like chess/euchre/poker, etc, etc. And I began to get very lonely. I decided it was time for a change.

I made a determined effort to cut back on my gaming. I started hanging out with my friends more. My friends and I personally renovated the church-house, and brought in furniture, foosball, game table, and we had a blast there all the time. Every once ina while, we'd set up the church projector and have a Smash Bros. night, but it was pure fellowship. Since those days, I've been careful not to let games take over my life.

I was introduced to WoW in October of '07. I played a lot, but I always made sure that it came after work, family, friends and church.

Now I'm 28, married, and have a great job. I still play WoW, but I'm able to do it casually. I keep in mind that I'm just playing a game, and that it's meant to just be enjoyed, not to be a second job.

I've also been in the guild Redeemed since I started playing. As a result, I've had several witnessing opportunities to people in the gaming community. The pattern with most of these encounters was very similar. I'd gain their respect by being nice, being prepared, and playing my class well. They ask about our guild, knowing what it stands for, and the discussion begins :)

As long as you're able to set boundaries, you can play this game, and use it for God's glory!
 
Hey Flamethrower, thanks for the reply. It looks like you've given alot of thought to this. (Wall of text crits Nuggen for over 9000!:))

Well, as much as I think WoW is awesome as a game, I think I've come to a decision that I won't be playing again, at least not soon. I just prayed today, and upon doing so I'm feeling less depressed but I lost my inclination to play.
So, I guess I'll be doing my best to glorify God outside Azeroth in what ways I can, but thanks for all the input. Y'all have helped me through a tough mental time. I'll keep you in my prayers, and I know that y'all will reach and inspire many lives in game and out.

I love this community though, and I'll keep on posting and reading.

Have a great day (or night) :),
God bless,
Nuggen
 
Yeah, I just read over my post and saw how long it was! Once I started typing, it just flowed out :P

I'm glad you were able to make this decision. I wasn't able to when I was in school. I thank God for the balance I've been able to find, and the opportunity to use it for His glory, but it sounds like He has other things in mind for you. I hope you'll find what He has for you, and do it to the best of your ability!
 
I strongly applaud your decision to put God before games. Sometimes that means playing games in submission to him (See above posts by Flamethrower,) and sometimes it means abandoning games for him.
 
Hi Flamethrower! ur life sounds a lot like what i went through, cept i never stuck with runescape very long! haha. seriously though, i'm 27 and married. but yea, atari, nintendo, snes, after a long while, a PS1, then on to n64. from there it went to online games, then BAM halflife/counterstrike, and finally from there to WoW. my number one rule with wow was it couldn't come before God or my family. was a fun hobby but after almost 5 years or whatever, it was time to move on to something else. imma check out aion but it will be more casual than i was with WoW. still a better hobby than some things out there. cheaper too i suppose. imagine if we (and some of u might i suppose ;D) tithed 10% (or more..) of our TIME, not just monies, to God. 2.4 hours a day... Great things could happen!
 
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