Every good gift and every perfect present comes from heaven; it comes down from God, the Creator of the heavenly lights, who does not change or cause darkness by turning.

James 1:17 (GNT)

I could hardly believe it myself, but when I glanced through my previously posted articles, I noticed that my very first work was released on June 3rd, 2019. That is, one year ago. It’s hard to fathom that I’ve been working on this blog now for over a year. I’ve learned much as I’ve created over 30 articles so far, and I continue to challenge myself to grow as a writer.

It was my hope when I created Hope, Play, and Love that I would share my passion of gaming and entertainment as well my Christian faith, in the attempt to show that they are not quite at odds as most people tend to think. Growing up, I repeatedly heard complaints that video games and films were evil and immoral, and would often lead to violence and coarse behavior. However, I also grew up with a great love of storytelling, and see a great value that’s inherent in the art of sharing stories, no matter what medium they may take the form of. I believe that we can learn more about the people and world around us, be given the grace to make mistakes, and learn from them without penalty through stories. Most importantly, I believe that God can speak through art in any capacity, and this includes through video games.

I’ve received a lot of encouragement this past year over my work, which is focused on sharing thoughts and feedback on games I’ve played, as well as television shows and films I’ve seen. Through watching and playing, I believe we can engage directly with a story, and recognize themes (if not values) that we can take back into the real world, and work on analyzing or applying them. Film, television shows, and video games continue to be misunderstood and be used as scapegoats when harmful behavior is exhibited. Instead of calling to demonize these mediums, I believe we should work harder in seeing what value they can give us, especially if we are parents or teachers. 

I’ve been amazed to see how innovative human beings can be, and how we continue to push the boundaries as we seek the answers to questions that have long burned in our souls for ages. God continues to work through people, and every good thing that we encounter in these stories surely comes from Him. This is even true in stories that seemingly leave God out; when I played The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt last year, I found myself playing in a godless, violent world, where characters were unhappy and tended to give in to their base desires. My eyes opened, however, that this was the kind of world that had cast God aside, and in doing so were living in their own self-constructed hell. I could perform good deeds (as much as the game would allow me to anyways), but there was no way to help these people repair their hearts, as well as repair their lives. Many of them continued to live in fear and misery no matter how much good I could do for them.

Just because a story seemingly leaves out God does not mean it’s necessarily useless to us and should be avoided. On the contrary, with wisdom and grace, we can learn from them and stay clear of their seedier behaviors, while fortifying our own values. I believe it is so important that we know what we believe, and why we believe what we do. We can be taught a set of rules and values growing up that we think we’ll carry well into our adulthood years. Once we enter the adult world, however, we often learn just how terrifying and cruel others can be, and we have no way to properly hold to our values as well as share them. We often hear of those who lose their faith and shift their values because they didn’t know how to defend them; they never had to before. Stories through games can give us a safe space in exploring and cementing our values, and in doing so better understand them.  

I hope to continue to use this blog to better educate those who are wary of video games but are seeking to learn more about them. It’s an exciting medium that continues to grow and evolve, and one that I’m very passionate about being a part of. As a teacher, I know how impressionable young children can be, and how strong a desire they have in wanting to fit in. By better understanding their interests, guardians have the opportunity to bond and grow their relationships with them. Trust is built, and children will see these guardians as people who respect them and want what’s best for them, rather than authority figures that wish to take away their fun.

For my readers who have been following me on my journey this past year, thank you. I’m incredibly thankful to God for planting the seeds of this site in my heart, and for helping me build it to what it has become. I hope that more opportunities will be in store in this site’s second year, and that it will be a resource for parents and families to use to help build an understanding for gaming. If there’s anything specific that you would like for me to write about or share, please let me know – and enjoy all of what Hope, Play, and Love has to offer.