“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31). Paul exhorts the church in Corinth to do everything for the glory of God. And the call is the same for us as the Church today. Does this include games? Yes, everything! It is not focused first and foremost on the participant, but rather is focused on God, who provides the sweet gift of games, laughter, and joy. If our call is to “glorify God and enjoy Him forever” (Westminster Shorter Chatechism, Q.1; also, Eph. 1:4–6, 11–12; Romans 11:33–36; Isa. 2:12–17, etc.), what does this look like in relation to games?
What it Does Not Look Like:
In order to answer that question, let us first turn to what it does not look like:
1) Making much of any one person or ministry
First, this doesn’t look like making much of any one person or even any particular ministry. If in the process of a game, we’re looking to make much of the ministry (“Our ministry is cool because we have (fill-in-the-blank)game”) or make much of any one person or group of people (whether that be catering to only one type of person (the athletic, the social, the problem solver, etc. (more on this later), or bringing the same people on stage to play a particular game week after week).
2) Cheesy “Christianese” phrases
It also doesn’t look like cheesy “Christianese” phrases encompassed in what you’re doing. Just because we add a “Christinese” phrase to something doesn’t mean the Lord is getting glory in that. For example, instead of calling it dodgeball, we say we are “storming the walls of Jericho.” While this is certainly an overly exaggerated example, many times we do this in games, saying we’re “doing life” or “fellowshipping” with one another. While it is most certainly fine to say these things, if the phrases we use are the only point of contact in glorifying the Lord, than we’ve missed it. The Lord isn’t interested in just our lingo; He is interested in our hearts (Matt. 23:27–28).
3) Over-spiritualizing
And last, it does not look like having a musical worship/preaching time as a “game.” What I mean by this is using the game week after week as a sermon illustration (for example, playing dodgeball and using that as the illustration in how “we are in a spiritual war!” or having the game be who can sing the worship song the loudest). Again, this is certainly fine to do from time to time, but if we “overly-spiritualize” everything by making it an illustration or having to use our lingo to make it meaningful, we’ve missed the Lord at work in the seemingly “unspiritual.”
While many of these might be a little bit on the far end of the spectrum, there is certainly some truth to many of the times we lead games. When everything from announcement, to leaders training, to music, to slides on the projector, to the sermon point to what is ultimate, we many times miss the call we have to glorify God and enjoy Him forever in how we lead games.
What it Can Look Like:
However, here is what it can look like:
1) Thankfulness to God
First, games can be played in such a way that brings thankfulness to God. Every good and perfect gift comes from God (James 1:17), after all, and all of our abilities to laugh, play, jump, dance, run, sing, etc. come from God. Even our every breath comes from God. He gives life to us and sustains us.
2) Worship and Display of God’s Character
Not only this, but we also have a unique privilege of worship and awe of His character in the midst of games. Knowing this and being in awe of His character leads us to the opportunity to display His character through games. Because He is generous, we can be generous, because He is full of joy we can be full of joy, because He is gracious we can be gracious, because we have been forgiven much we can forgive others, because He cares for the down and outcast, we can look for those people too in the midst of the games we play and care for them, because He is true and good, we can be true and good too, and because He is communal, we can be communal too. Games can be used in a way to bring glory to God by worshipping and displaying God's character
3) Teachable Moments (not every moment though!)
Also, glorifying God in the midst of games means utilizing particular moments as teachable moments. Certainly not every game should be an illustrative activity as I mentioned above, since then it can not have the needed emphasis and “aha” moment since eventually participant will just default to “what are you trying to teach me?” However, there are times within games in which allow for teachable moments such as when you have someone who gets a little too competitive (reminding them of God’s mercy and kindness), someone who gets left out (reminding them of God’s love and compassion), someone who isn’t good at whatever game is being played (reminding them of God’s unique design as image bearers and the fact that each member is a part of the body), etc.. As ambassadors of reconciliation, the Church has the chance to show these people in a tangible way the love of Christ and beauty of the gospel message. This can literally lead people to the throne of God.
4) Leisure
Games can also bring about a true sense of leisure based on the ways the Lord has wired us to get so entrenched in the game that it can bring about a state of joy and pleasure, allowing time to literally disappear, just as the runner, Eric Liddell, proclaims, saying “When I run, I feel His pleasure” (more on this later). This can prepare hearts even more so before the throne of God.
Opportunities to Glorify God
We have the privilege as ministry leaders to point participants to the Lord and to glorifying Him even as we play games. That means we have the opportunity to show remind them of these truths. Maybe that can be as simple as spending time in prayer before the game rather than only before something we would deem “more spiritual.” Maybe it is looking for those one-off teachable moments you can utilize to share the beautiful truth of who God is and what the gospel is. Maybe it looks like training your flock in walking in the Spirit in the midst of what is typically classified as “unspiritual.” Listed below are questions to help you think through not only the games you play, but also the way the game is led and the way the game is played in order to continue to process through games. They are not just games; they are instruments in which to continue to glorify God! How will you use them?
-Does the game make much of or belittle God? In other words, does it align with God’s design and purposes or defy those?
-Does the game exalt God or the world? Do the games you are play draw participants more towards the person and ways of God or to the things and ways of the world?
-Are game types rotated in such a way that the gifts and talents of various participants are emphasized more than just one or two types?
-Does the game align with the character of God?
-Does the game align with the heart of God?