Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

“So now I charge you in the sight of all Israel and of the assembly of the Lord, and in the hearing of our God: Be careful to follow all the commands of the Lord your God, that you may possess this good land and pass it on as an inheritance to your descendants forever.
“And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever.

• 1 Chronicles 28:8-9

Arise, Lord, in your anger;
    rise up against the rage of my enemies.
    Awake, my God; decree justice.
Let the assembled peoples gather around you,
    while you sit enthroned over them on high.
    Let the Lord judge the peoples.
Vindicate me, Lord, according to my righteousness,
    according to my integrity, O Most High.
Bring to an end the violence of the wicked
    and make the righteous secure—
you, the righteous God
    who probes minds and hearts.

• Psalm 7:6-9

They encourage each other in evil plans,
    they talk about hiding their snares;
    they say, “Who will see it?”
They plot injustice and say,
    “We have devised a perfect plan!”
    Surely the human mind and heart are cunning.

• Psalm 64:5-6

Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.
You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.

• Romans 8:5-9

I confess.  I do not read the Bible and write these posts all the time.  I have a couple of Christian television programs that I like to watch, and I am down to one law enforcement show that I watch.  I even fall asleep while trying to watch an American football game.  And it is Australian Rules Football Season.

But I have a few puzzle games on the tablet that I enjoy, but mostly I like playing a variety of solitaire games.  Maybe I am turning into my mother’s father.  One of my fond memories of him was watching television with him while he played Klondike solitaire – and cheated.  If there were two red threes that he could move, he would check the cards that had not yet been revealed to see which was a better red three to move.  These days with the computer, you can do the same thing by choosing one and if it does not work out, click the undo button and then select the other.  The game that I play gives you a score and you have a penalty on the score if you click the undo button.  But, hey, it still gives you a win.

But all that aside, I have enjoyed sorting games and games that test speed and problem solving.  One of those is a game with a variety of different colored people on floors of a building and they are on a floor that is not their color (red, yellow, orange, dark green, light green, etc.).  Your job is to operate the elevator until everyone is on the right floor.  Then some harder levels are three to six shades of the same color, and you have to sort it out.  It is a simple game really.  It is almost impossible to lose, but you can take more time than others and your ranking might be low.

But why am I writing about this?

Every five levels of the game features a white person (these are humanoid form but all one color) who is in the elevator.  He is given a strength.  Each floor of the building has a green, yellow or red person with an assigned strength.  All you have to do is go to a floor with a person with less strength and you become victorious.

How?

You go to that floor, and the white person pulls out a baseball bat and cracks it over the other person’s skull.  You gain his strength to add to yours and you keep bashing in people’s skulls until you complete the level.  Then the white person dances in the elevator.

Sick?!  Yes, sick.

And I have tried to skip the level, but the game forces you to do that level to get the next four legitimate puzzles.

NOTE: Right after I wrote this, the game had an update, and I now can skip those levels.

What are we teaching by this?  The game advertised that there were “mystery” levels, but bashing people’s skulls is not a mystery, and all you have to remember is to not go to a floor where the person has a higher number than the white guy.  “Guy” is nebulous in that it is an indistinct humanoid shape.

But what violence are we teaching in this game?  And the big question is that while the rest of the game is challenging and fun, why throw in violence?

And when do we become numb to the violence?  Can I just bash a few heads without thinking so that I can continue with the game I like?  Are we rewarding people who are willing to bash people’s heads?

I cannot even imagine asking if this game glorifies God or not.  It is rather obvious that it does not.

So, back to the Play Store?

No, better yet, open my Bible and read about the love of God.  Fill your mind with something you can take with you when you pass to the next world.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.