5 minutes a day 5 days a week - a year of Bible Wisdom

My brother-in-law spends much of his free time playing video games in which he controls a character that commits violent, hateful, and deplorable acts.  How do I communicate to him (with patience and grace) that what he's doing in this 'fantasy' world is still wrong?

Sincerely,
Digital Age

Dear Digital Age,

Video games are not necessarily sinful, but anything – including some video games – that causes us to dwell and meditate on sin should be avoided.  We here at AYP agree that video games focusing on murder, theft, fornication, etc. are a very, VERY bad idea… especially considering the potentially addictive nature of many of these games.  God wants us to dwell upon positive things (Php 4:8), not immorality.  As a man thinks in his heart, so he is (Pr 23:7).  If our worldview is guided by our visions of being a drug-dealing pimp (a vision which some video games portray), then that view will effect our lifestyle and attitude.

As for how to address your brother-in-law… that is a trickier issue.  The first thing to do is pray.  Pray for him (1 Jn 5:16).  Pray for wisdom (Jas 1:5).  Only by the grace of God and His Word can we affect the lives of others.  Feel free to show your disdain for these types of games, but make sure to point out why.  Make it clear that you don’t disdain him – but the content of the games.  Otherwise, let the purity of your own example pave the way to making a difference (Matt 5:16).  There is no easy one-size-fits-all answer for how to approach others.  All we can do is make sure to remove sin from our own lives first (Matt 7:3-4), and be prepared to give a defense for the hope that is in us (1 Pet 3:15).

I am a pastor under my father-in-law, and I felt the LORD calling me out to start a work for Him, but my father-in-law does not want to let me go.  I have been ordained as a pastor for four years under him, and I have done all he has asked me to do.  My wife has only been under her father her whole life and does not want to leave him because there are not a lot of people there.  This is a hurting thing because GOD is call me, but my wife will not go, and my father-in-law doesn’t want me to leave.  PLEASE HELP.

Sincerely,
Pastored Pastor

Dear Pastored Pastor,

Your problem is that you are part of a false church.  You say that you “are a pastor under my father-in-law”.  Show us where the Bible gives an example of a pastor (also known as a elder, bishop, or overseer) being under the authority of another pastor!  You are frustrated because when we don’t do things God’s way, we always get frustrated.  We recommend you read “Elders” and “What’s In A Name” to see the importance of God’s criteria for pastors.  Perhaps we are missing something, but there is absolutely no reason we should organize a church differently than God has.  God placed a specific leadership structure in place for congregations: elders/pastors who lead, deacons who serve and help the elders, and the rest of the membership (Php 1:1).  Anything other than that pattern is ungodly.

We often tell the people that write into AskYourPreacher to ask their own church leadership why they do what they do.  Since you ARE the church leadership, we are asking you:

• Where in the Bible can you see this pattern?

We urge you to write back into the site, and we will post your answer to the question verbatim (please keep your answer succinct, just like we do – 250 words or less).  If we are wrong, we would like to be corrected.  We, and our readership, look forward to your response.

5 minutes a day 5 days a week - a year of Bible Wisdom

5 minutes a day 5 days a week - a year of Bible Wisdom