…[T]he saying abusus non tollit usum applies here. Abuse does not negate right use. Furthermore, if we are to condemn instances of relaxation or fun as necessarily contrary to our duties, then where is the condemnation for sports, board games, vacations, having dinner with friends, or sleep?

While there are certainly valid concerns regarding video games and their current tendency to become addictions, time wasting tools, and distractions from our call to live godly lives, more nuance is needed than was evidenced in the article posted on The Aquila Report on May 24.

First, we need to recognize that not all video games are created equal. This includes quality, playstyle, enjoyment, and temptation to addiction. The article to which Mr. Bayly linked is accurate for Massive Multiplayer Online games (MMO). These games include games like World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online, and other games where the game world continues whether you play or not and where there are thousands of people playing in the same game world at the same time. These games are designed to be addicting because the designers make money based on subscriptions. If they can keep people playing, they keep getting money. However, not all games are like this. And even though MMOs are becoming increasingly popular, they are by no means the majority of video games produced or bought.

I agree completely that video games can be addicting. I’ve experienced that first hand. I agree that many games are made with the intent of causing addiction. I’ve heard those conversations among developers. These problems are real and must be addressed. But we must be careful and guard against throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Video games, like board games and sports, are not intrinsically evil.

Video games have positive uses. They can build relationships in a similar manner to sports. Get a group of men or teenagers together and put them on a field with a football or Frisbee and there will be a bonding that happens between them. A similar bonding will happen if you take them and get them in a room and play Mario Kart. Granted, this bonding is not the same, but that can be precisely the point. Some people will not bond by throwing a Frisbee or a football. Similarly, both of these activities (video games and sports) provide venues for genuine fellowship and that should in no way be thought ungodly. However, both the sports and the video games can become more important to the participants than the fellowship and enjoyment of others. Add in a compulsion to play a game (or watch a sport or check ESPN) and you have an addiction.

It is at this point that the issue needs to be addressed. This has to be done on an individual level and simply cannot be done with blanket statements. Let’s say that half of the blogging community abuses blogs and do not glorify God by their blogging activities. This does not imply that all blogging is evil and those who use blogs for kingdom work are pursuing ungodliness and need to repent. The same is true with video games. Simply because some people are addicted and the technology is used for wicked purposes does not mean that it cannot be used for good. Now, how that technology is being used in the church, the limits of that technology, it’s effectiveness for ministry, etc. are all conversations that need to happen; but, these conversations cannot happen if we are to shun all instances of video games (nor can they happen if we turn a blind eye to video games).

Video games can also be used to bring people together who otherwise would not talk to each other. Imagine you have a group of kids together and they range from jocks, to nerds, to emo, to bros, to whatever sub-group you can think of. Now, normally they would have nothing to do with each other, but odds are that they all enjoy playing video games. Video games can be used to bride a gap between people. Genuine fellowship can happen, times of laughter can abound, much like with board games. Now, I do not think that you should facilitate video game playing for long or use it as the primary means of bringing people together, but it can be a good inroad.

Gamers need the gospel too, and if you spend time around them that will be evident. Video game communities and the people gamers play with are deplorable. The lack of personal communication and the proliferation of sinful ways of relating with humans that often characterize the typical video gaming atmosphere make ministering to people inside of that atmosphere quite easy. Play a video game with a gamer, show him or her respect, like you actually value them as a person, and watch the response. Then, show them something better; show them a better community than the one they find in video games. Introduce them to your youth group or your church. Instead of pointing out the potential negatives and condemning those who might be affected by those negatives, discern the needs gamers are trying to fulfill in video games (community, a sense of meaning and purpose, and feeling of worth) and show them how you have something better, someone who will actually provide for those needs.

Video games certainly can creep in and take time away that we should be spending on other things. No argument from me on that point. However, the saying abusus non tollit usum applies here. Abuse does not negate right use. Furthermore, if we are to condemn instances of relaxation or fun as necessarily contrary to our duties, then where is the condemnation for sports, board games, vacations, having dinner with friends, or sleep? All of these things can displace our duties, but just because they can doesn’t mean that they necessarily do. What we need for each of these activities, video games included, is discernment and self-control.

Daniel Stephens grew up in Seneca, SC and currently lives in Charlotte, NC where attends Reformed Theological Seminary. He is an intern at New Covenant ARP church.