When I was a new Christian I had an extreme desire to know Jesus more and to be His faithful servant. Every day I read the Bible and studied it to my heart’s content. It was a wonderful experience for me. I didn’t neglect my chores though. I worked and when I had time I had sweet communion with my Lord. Then I started playing video games.
I didn’t play the very bad ones like Grand Theft Auto or the shoot ’em up games, no, I played games like Mario Bros. Sonic The Hedgehog, Spyro, and Crash Bandicoot. I had so much fun that I forgot about my daily bible reading. My pleasure soon became an addiction. I would spend five or six hours playing video games. What encouraged this was the storyline in the games. I wanted to see what would happen next and would not stop until I reached the end of the game. My attitude changed drastically. I started to yell a lot and get stressed over things that weren’t important. The excitement and speed of video games really had a negative effect on my mind.
I still spent some time with Jesus but it wasn’t the same. I was terribly distracted. When the time was over I would hurriedly fire up the Game Cube and start playing again, forgetting the lessons I learned in my Bible study. This went on for a long time until I watched a documentary on a Christian channel about video games. At first I thought the presenters were being silly, fanatical with their views. But when I thought about it and prayed about it I discovered that maybe they had something there. Video games were ruining my relationship with God and with my family. The time that I devoted to the small fat plumber and the speedy blue hedgehog could have been used in a way that was more beneficial. I decided to no longer play video games. I gradually went back to spending more time with Jesus like I did before. It was wonderful reliving my first love again! I missed Him so much and I’m sure He missed me too.
I tried to get back to playing video games but the whole experience became boring for me. I would play a game for just 15 – 30 mins and then turn the machine off to find something else to do. I thanked God for helping me to reach that place. I was growing up in Jesus Christ. My attitude soon began to change. I became my old sweet self again to the joy of my family. I asked them to forgive me of the times I was very mean toward them and they forgave me. God forgave me too. I soon sold my Game Cube and started my life away from the controller.
Friend, if you desire to get away from the controller and go back to Jesus Christ, then this fast is for you. Remember to pray and read the Bible during this week of leaving the artificial atmosphere of video games and entering God’s eternal atmosphere.
Spiritual Preparation and Meditation Fast 