Repent, Lest Anything Worse Happen to You

Ever since I was a kid, and went to Chuck E. Cheese, I had a fascination with video games. I loved video games. I remember going to the arcades down the Jersey Shore and I would spend hours inserting quarters and trying to get high scores. Games like Choplifter, Spy Hunter, and Star Wars Tie Fighter, were some of my favorites. I guess I just dated myself right there.

Several years ago, my wife wanted to bless me and bought me an X-Box video game console, a headset to play against people online, and the game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (CODMW3). It was a great game; a first-person shooter that was right up my alley with intense graphics and amazing sound quality. Within a few weeks I was starting to get really good at it and was talking and playing people online. I was hooked, and before I knew it I was playing about two to four hours a day. As my playing increased, my Bible reading, prayer, and fellowship with God decreased. The LORD convicted me, and within several months I got rid of the game. It was a blessing becasue I was drawing close to God, praying, reading the Bible, and totally seeking Him.

Several years later I thought I had self control enough to play again. this time I purchased Battlefield 3. It came out around the time of CODMW3; but this one you could drive tanks, fly helicopters, and so much more. Not to mention blow up buildings. The graphics were even better than the other, and I started meeting new people online. I told myself I would keep my playing to a minimum, and only play one or two days a week. At first it went well, but then I was in my old routine. I played so much that within a few months I made it to the rank of 2nd Colonel. Now what do I do? The conviction started, and I was ignoring the signs.

The night of June 10th, I had a dream that was quite unusual for me. I had drempt that I was surrounded by intense white light and I was in the presence of God. He told me that I was to get rid of the game and that he had become jealous and wanted my attention. I had abandoned my post and forgotten all about Him. If I would not stop playing, He would chasten me and keep me from playing. So that morning I shrugged it off and went to work.

Right after work the next day, I walked into the house, hit the power button on the X-Box, and started playing. Lisa had gotten home and needed to cook. I went to help her cut some sweet potatoes while she went to the Chiropractor. So I’m looking at these things, trying to remember the instructions she gave me. I was confused and cut them my own way. With blade in hand, I made a decision that to this day I have no idea why I did it. The blade slipped and went across my left middle and index fingers. Blood poured out of them immediately, and I knew I was in trouble. Panic set in, called Lisa, and off to Urgent Care we went. I spent the next ten days off with six stitches, and then another week with sutchers because it didn’t heal correctly. The doctor said if the blade was sharper of I would have used a bigger knife, I would have certainly lost my two fingers.

You would think that I learned my lesson, right? Wrong. I was justifying my video game playing, and within days I was back playing my favorite game. So, July 4th rolls around and the same dream happened that night. The LORD was very displeased with me, and told me to repent lest anything worse happen to me. Did I listen? Hardly. I was convinced it was just a dream and my imaginations were getting the best of me. Not to mention we shouldn’t listen to dreams anyway. I just needed to put the game down for a while.

The next day I went into work. As a Field Service Technician, I use my hands constantly. My shift was almost over at 2pm, and all I could think about was playing that game. A machine needed service and I crawled under, opened a door panel weighing at least 30 lbs, and fixed the machine. All went well until I had to put the panel back on. It went on a little difficult, but screwed it in and started to scoot myself from under the machine. All of a sudden that door came off the hinges and all the weight landed on my right hand ring finger. I let out a yell, grit my teeth, and instantly teared up. I ran out to the ice machine to stop the swelling and I was too late. I had a grape on the end of my finger and I knew it was broken. The pain was intense. Another Urgent Care visit, and it was indeed broken.

So, out of work on Worker’s Comp’, I have a lot to think about as I sit alone at home with an ice pack and throbbing pain. But I knwo what I won’t have to think about — playing that game. That’s right. I was afraid if I didn’t get rid of it, I was going to lose a digit, or my job, or maybe both. So, in the trash it went, and I had tremendous peace in the process.

Therefore, what is the moral of the story? Do what God tells you to do quickly, thoroughly, and cheerfully. Spent quality time with Him. Put away the idols in our lives and be fully devoted to the LORD. Now do I believe that I was talking to God in a dream? I don’t know. But I have two messed up hands and a lot of time to spend thinking about it. I reflect on different ways the LORD got the attention of people in His Word through physical chastening. Jacob (Genesis 32:22-32), Saul (Acts 9:1-9), the Israelites in the wilderness, along with many others. But you know, it’s been great. I have great peace, I’m getting things done, and studying for my Precept Inductive Bible Study I will be teaching in September.