A Wii Thought about Providence

Personally I am not into playing video games, although I was recently told that the average age of video gamer is roughly my own. While that may be true, I am more aware of the extent to which video games of one kind or another are appealing to people of all ages these days.

Young people increasingly look to the Play Station or Xbox for pleasure alone or with friends, and several retirement homes have installed the Nintendo Wii games console for their residents’ recreation and health. For all sorts of people, computer games have become part of daily life.

So it is not surprising that manufacturers of video games have been quick to produce game versions of popular films like Star Wars and Harry Potter.

These video games tend to share the same basic plot as the film they are based on. Characters from the films take part in the game, doing similar things and having similar goals as they did in the film. But you, the player, get to be one of them. You assume the role of a character from the film, facing the challenges and making the discoveries that she or he might have done. Unlike the cinema goer who can sit back, munch popcorn and watch a predetermined plot unfold from start to finish, the video gamer plays an active role in the story that emerges. What appears on the screen with each new scene is, at least in part, influenced by the skill and choices of the gamer. That, of course, is what makes the game engaging and enjoyable.

The rise in film based video games offer a new and illuminating metaphor for understanding our God-given role as stewards of creation. Christians believe that the plot which fundamentally shapes the whole universe is the story of God creating life out of love, saving it through the death and resurrection of God’s son Jesus, and bringing it to perfection through the ongoing work of God’s Spirit.

God’s plot gives to all our lives a place to be and a purpose to pursue, rather like the place and purpose described in a Harry Potter story (in book, film or video game version) is the brainchild of J.K. Rowling.

But God’s plot is not one we are meant simply to sit back and watch unfold while we munch the proverbial popcorn. God intends human beings, creatures made in God’s image, to interact with this plot, using our skills and making choices which actually affect the world around us. Our choices and abilities have some influence on the changing scenes of our daily lives, like they do the changing scenes of a video game. God may work through our actions, but in doing so does not deprive them of being our actions, with consequences for which we are responsible.

There are limits to the analogy between human responsibility in life and video gaming for fun. When we fail, we or others may suffer damaging consequences. But by giving his life for our sakes, Jesus Christ has ensured that it is not ‘game over’ when we fail.

Ultimately it is not our best efforts, but God’s redeeming love that secures a future in which, as the hymn writer puts it, ‘the earth shall be filled with the glory of God.’ Nevertheless, we have a significant and active part to play. Perhaps the analogy is most telling in emphasising that the responsible part we have been given in God’s unfolding story is something to be enjoyed!

The Uniting church has managed to surpass its target for raising pledges to finance the rebuilding project. This has come about because we have sensed that our calling to share Christ’s love entails making the church building better equipped to serve our local community. People have recognised they have an active part to play in realising this aspect of God’s plan for us, and their generosity has significantly affected our prospects for pursuing the project. Let’s see what happens when we take this ‘game’ to the next level!

Michael Peat