Nerds of America, meet your match ... (1 of 2)

I will be the first to admit that I've played some video games in my life. Especially as a younger kid, I played a LOT of video games. I've even played some pretty nerdy games in the past. My personality lends itself to games that are expansive and involved (read: dorky), and I have enjoyed the occasional RPG (role playing game), like the Final Fantasy series, in addition to the more standard shoot-'em-up and sports games. Now I rarely have the desire, much less the time, to turn on the ole PS2 and immerse myself in my inner nerd-dom.

So while I usually have sympathy for those that play some of these games, this is just ridiculous.

I encourage you to check out that article from yahoo, but let me hit the high points and offer some thoughts. Final Fantasy XI (yeah, there are eleven of them, actually more than that) is an online RPG, kind of like Everquest or World of Warcraft, if you're familiar with those. If not, here's the gist: you control a player, which you build up and equip through the game, which is played online with and against other players. Typically you team up with some other adventurers to advance the story line and make your characters stronger. There's much interaction and chatting between characters, and from what I understand, much of it is very much "in character." There's no talk of Tom Brady and his chances at an undefeated season; it's more about what spells you are fond of and which guilds you recommend.

Now, to quiet the snickering, I should say this: I have never played this game. I've already admitted to playing other such games (I really can't believe I'm typing this right now), but none of those involved this online component. Most are one player story line games -- one nerd limit. I have always restricted my nerd-dom from being shared with others in an online community. That's just a bit much for me. I liked to relish my nerdiness in isolation, to hide my shame from the world.

So anyway, the upside to an online game is that there are always updates that the developer can introduce: new bosses, side quests, equipment, etc. Square-Enix, developer of the series, recently introduced its latest addition -- a new super boss named, "Pandemonium Warden." Naturally, after hearing of its existence, some top level gamers ventured out to take it down. Only problem is, it's quite a resilient little bugger. In fact, these high-level characters blasted away at the monstrosity for over 18 hours straight, with no sign of weakening it. In fact, according to the yahoo article, leaders of the "player's guild" (go ahead, you can laugh at that) complained to Square-Enix that gamers were "passing out and getting physically ill." From a video game.

I'll give you a moment to take that in.

I'm pretty sure I couldn't (and wouldn't) do anything for 18 hours straight except breathe. Maybe not even that. But here's where this hits home: it's easy to make fun of people who would fight a ridiculously named online monster for the better part of a day if we weren't guilty of essentially the same thing.

See, in our culture we are awash in a sea of triviality. It is absolutely astounding how much time we devote to things that are completely meaningless, mindless, or both. Sure, you might not burn the midnight oil via online gaming, but how much time do you spend on Facebook every day? For what purpose? "Staying in touch with old friends?" Please. Rifling through hundreds of pictures in people's photo albums of people you've never met, scouring the news feed for gossip, and updating your status every 15 minutes is just as absurd as a prolonged battle with Pandemonium Warden. There are some legitimate uses to Facebook, I'll admit, (some even are useful in ministry) but if we're honest with ourselves, we exhaust ourselves of those uses pretty quickly.

Do you watch "The Hills"? I have a hard time believing you could convince me that there is one thing about that show that isn't completely meaningless. What about You Tube? How edified are you by watching that dumb skater kid fall and land on his daddy parts for the fourth time? Or that cute kid giggle at that bunny rabbit? What about sports? If you spend as much time as I have in the past pouring over statistics for your fantasy team or rumors of collegiate recruiting, you have wasted a good chunk of your life.

And yet we complain that we don't have enough time to spend in God's Word? To witness to our friends and family about our faith? To commune with our Lord in prayer? To read books to grow in our faith and knowledge? To invest in others lives in discipleship?

Sounds like a cop-out.

to be concluded ...