6th
Video games, marshmallows and faith
Every once in a while I’ll play a video game or two. I know they can be a vortex and suck away lots of time and I try to be careful about that. I set my limits. I often find my mind wandering from the game to things I need or want to do. It’s a momentary diversion that ultimately brings me back to reality, if that makes any sense.
I was playing a game recently and in this game you’re given a certain number of resources to build an army to defend this little fort. The attacks are small at first and so is your firepower. By eliminating the enemy you get their loot, build your assets and get more firepower, which you have to strategically place to be more effective in your counter attack. Yes, genius I know.
I can’t pass this one level. Every time the enemy gets stronger at the end and no matter how I place the weaponry, I’m always overwhelmed by it and go down in a blaze of glory. If there’s something I’ve learned from this little game it’s this:
We have to consistently build our firepower, in terms of our faith. We have to consistently grow our ability to defend ourselves and our families. The prophets have said persistently that there is an onslaught of evil, which I’ve personally felt. It’s my belief that we still live in relative peace and we’ve only seen a portion of what’s to come. Very comforting thoughts. Without knowing the enemy, how he works, how he lulls us into “carnal security”, we can easily go down. But more importantly if we haven’t made the time and effort to know Christ, who has overcome the world and all the power it has to drag us down, we will inevitably fall victim.
A rush of thoughts:
- Parable of the 10 virgins.
- Carnal security.
- Power in the Priesthood talk by Elder Packer.
- Endowed with power from on high.
- Power of the word having a “more powerful effect… than anything else.”
I believe that one of the main ways that the media is used, is by filling our time and our souls with needless information. By constantly taking it in on a daily basis, we might as well be eating marshmallows all day. They can fill us up, but where’s the nutrional value. We need to taking in all good things, all good scripture, seeking truth and filling our souls with power from on high.
