How does God view interests such as video games, stories, and favorite fictional worlds? Within many religious systems, two common answers are often given—and both miss the mark. The first claims these things are worldly, fleshly distractions from “spiritual” pursuits. The second insists they must be baptized, made “Christian,” and turned into ministry projects. Both responses distort God’s good gifts into a new law and burden believers who simply want to know if it’s acceptable to be human and love Christ.
The truth is far simpler and more freeing. God created each person with a unique personality, interests, and a capacity for enjoyment. Spiritual life in Christ does not erase human life on earth; it redeems it. The question is not whether these things can be enjoyed, but from where they are enjoyed. Is Christ the living fountain, or are broken cisterns being sought for satisfaction?
The Trap of Over-Spiritualization
Early in my Christian walk, I recall attending a craft fair with friends and family. A community band played light orchestral music, and people were enjoying themselves. A friend remarked, “They’re all just in the flesh, aren’t they?” I agreed, saying, “Yes, it’s all just flesh. It’s vanity. It means nothing.” My wife was upset and said, “Just take me home. This is terrible.” Our zeal had blinded us to the joy others found in simple pleasures.
This attitude is not reflective of Jesus. He attended weddings, made wine for feasts, and engaged with people where they were. Zeal without grace leads to sanctimonious judgment. This over-spiritualization—what might be called mystical legalism—declares what God has called clean as unclean. It echoes Gnostic thinking, where only “spiritual” things are real and everything else is an illusion to escape. This is not the faith we profess.
Paul provides a balanced perspective: “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us” (2 Corinthians 4:7). The treasure is Christ; the earthen vessel is the believer’s life, body, household, and interests. Both are real. The treasure does not destroy the vessel but fills, transforms, and expresses itself through it. To deny the vessel is to deny the means God chose for His glory.
Your Life Is From His Sovereignty
Consider this: your life, with all its details, is sovereignly given by God. Your marriage, household, interests, and capacities are part of His design. For example, after my father passed away, I sold his house, paid his debts, and was left with enough to buy a piano. God was pleased because He created me to be a musician. This is all good.
Rootedness in a natural human life prevents mystical detachment and enables genuine help to others. We suffer and receive comfort in the natural realm. The cross does not eliminate human experience or replace it with an abstract “Christ” so that only Christ is seen. No believer is so spiritual as to be a mystical hermit.
Scripture affirms: “For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer” (1 Timothy 4:4-5). The capacity to appreciate a well-told story, artistry in a game, or creativity in a character reflects the image of God. These are part of the “all things” He richly gives for enjoyment.
How Then Do We Glorify God?
How can God be glorified through video games or fiction? Not by adding Bible verses or turning them into ministry projects, but through the posture of the heart. It is not about labeling activities as “spiritual” or “secular,” but about the source of enjoyment.
First, receive interests with thanksgiving as gifts from the Father’s hand. This act of faith acknowledges His sovereignty in the details of life. When picking up a controller or opening a book with a simple “Thank you, Lord, for this,” the Giver is honored, and His creation affirmed as good.
Second, let enjoyment flow from a heart satisfied in Christ first. Christ is righteousness, sanctification, and reward. He said, “But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:14). When Christ is the living water, other enjoyments find their proper place—as refreshment, not addiction; entertainment, not escape. They can be enjoyed without needing to fill a void only He can satisfy.
For example, when playing piano and focusing on technique or chord progressions, the music itself is neutral. The life flowing through the activity is what matters. The question is whether the heart rests in Christ or seeks personal glory.
The Balance of the Grafted Life
Believers have two realities: grafted into Christ, the old life of Adam and flesh with its corrupt desires was crucified. Yet the branch—the believer’s personality, relationships, jobs, and hobbies—remains. “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5).
The new life of Christ flows through the branch, expressing itself uniquely in each person. God desires to purge the old and express new life through the vessel He created. Whether fast or slow, serious or humorous, these are legitimate expressions of God’s creation.
Paul’s warning is crucial: if one’s view of Christ’s work does not allow for a regular, actual human life with household and interests to enjoy, then that doctrine is unbalanced. The gospel frees believers to be fully human, not to escape humanity.
A Warning Against the Other Ditch
The opposite error is worldly idolatry—when a good gift becomes a god. When a story, game, or hobby becomes the source of joy, identity, and comfort, it replaces the true fountain. Jeremiah condemned this: “For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water” (Jeremiah 2:13).
The difference lies in the heart’s posture. Is the interest a gift held with open hands, thankful to the Giver? Or is it a cistern dug and clutched tightly, demanded to quench a thirst it cannot satisfy? The former is faith; the latter is sin. Anything not of faith is sin.
The Freedom to Engage
True freedom in Christ enables engagement with people where they are. It does not impose a spirituality so deep that others cease to exist. Believers can discuss stories, appreciate art, and enjoy creation because they know the Creator. They can “dance at the wedding” because their joy is anchored in Someone infinitely deeper.
So play the game. Read the book. Dive into the fictional world. Do so with thanksgiving and from a heart whose primary satisfaction is unshakably secure in Christ. Let enjoyment be a testimony. Let others see a person who enjoys life fully yet possesses a treasure, a portion, a reward that surpasses all. That reward is a Person: “After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward” (Genesis 15:1).
Christ is the reward. In Him, believers are free to receive and enjoy every good gift the Father gives—including the human life, with all its interests, sovereignly placed by God. This is how God is glorified.
