Neirai the Forgiven
Christian Guilds List Manager
Hi everyone, it is me again 
Today I'd like to talk about something that's been on my mind. As you all probably know, I'm not really big on the whole "Judgementalism/Legalism Thing". I find that it alienates unbelievers and renders our attempts to reach people with the Message of Grace rather fruitless. I've begun searching for a paradigm shift, an alternative to the failing system that seems to plague modern evangelism.
I've become a proponent of living righteous lives that show off what "abundant life" should really be like, rather than judging others and pointing out where their lives don't measure up.
I've become a proponent of God giving us free grace and second, third, fourth, and googlplexth chances to try do what He asks us to do, rather than believing that God wants us to follow a set of rules.
And finally, I've become a proponent of God not caring so much where we sit on a scale of evil to perfect, but that God cares more about the overall direction that our lives are moving -- toward Him or towards ourselves.
But, this does present a problem. If, indeed, God doesn't care about how knowledgeable, near-perfect, or crowd-pleasing we are, nor does He expect anything from us except a desire to grow closer to Him, why should we bother to try to live righteous lives? Is there a reason, or are we simply clutching at straws?
Believe it or not, WoW can help us see the reasons why we strive for righteousness, whether the right reasons or the wrong reasons. And it can teach us, using the most unlikely element of the World of Warcraft: loot!
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Inspirations from WoW #2: Why strive for righteousness?++++++++++++
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So, the question I have to ask is, why do we try to pursue loot in WoW?
Well, it really depends on who you ask, but there are many reasons:
Now, let me stress the importance of this next sentence: In a game, like WoW, there is nothing wrong with this behavior. I'm not judging someone for farming items, collecting sets, or trying to be the best. It is a game. It's fun!
What isn't fun, however, is people who try to do the same thing with their Christian walk. The reasons outlined above are great when they are reasons for hunting down loots, but they honestly suck when they are reasons for righteous living. In fact, they tend to turn 'Righteous living" into "Unrighteous religiousity". Let me explain:
Sounds pretty bad, eh?
So, if these are the reasons why people strive for righteousness, why should we even try to do good --- if, after all, it is simply self-serving?
Well, it is because there really is another reason to want to get loot, and, once again, a correlating reason to pursue righteousness. I call it "Getting the Job Done".
You see, each of us has a goal in mind for our WoW characters. Actually, we tend to have several. Mine might run like this:
->Kill Broodlord Lashlayer in BWL.
->Get the whole Genesis Set.
->Reach my server for Christ... or at least the SGA.
->Become the best Teddytank on the server.
->Get an epic mount.
->Show up for at least one guild ZG run.
->Get that awesome legendary staff.
->At least get attuned for Naxxramus.
Now, this list may be big, or small, depending on who is reading this, but you don't have to look hard to realize that a level 60 druid in Wildheart Gear does not even stand a chance at completing the goal of killing Broodlord Lashlayer, or getting the Genesis Set, or becoming the best Teddytank on the server. He just can't. Why not? Because he is not adequetly geared! So, in order to accomplish the goals I have set for myself, I need to get some better gear. In fact, often enough, in order to accomplish the goals that my friends have set along with me, whether it is a guild ZG run or an aSGA Blackwing Lair run, I'm going to need to get some better gear.
Sometimes, if 'getting the job done' means purchasing an epic mount, I've got to get some gold. Alternatively, if 'getting the job done' means beating Vaelstratz, I'm going to need to focus on topping the damage charts. I'm not collecting the gear, however, to make coin or stroke my ego or prove that I'm better than you -- instead, I'm collecting the gear because it is part of playing the game constructively. It's part of Getting the Job Done.
Similarly, this is the reason that we strive for righteousness. We have a goal -- to do what God has planned for us, and we have to get geared up -- most Christians call it 'becoming more Christlike', which is a good defintion for it, as long as you call a mage getting geared up 'becoming more Netherwindlike'. The fact is, in order to accomplish our God-given destinies, or in order to get our daily Christian life onto some sort of farm status, we are going to need to progress beyond the way of living that we had when we first got saved. For many, it is a gradual process, just like saving up DKP to get loots. But in the end, it allows us to do things for God that we would never have dreamed possible --- just like a guild who could not even get Lucifron to 35% health, who after a month of gearing themselves up walks home with Ragnaros dead.
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So --- why DO we strive for righteousness? The answer is simple: So we can become more like Christ, and in doing so, can accomplish those things that God has created us to do.
As a side note, please notice that this is a striving for Christlikeness, not perfection. Christ was perfect, but that was because He was God. You are not, so don't even bother trying to be perfect. On the other hand, Jesus Christ was marked by a whole-hearted desire to follow God's plan for His life. This one you CAN do. That's what it means to be Christlike. And it is attainable. You just have to let Him lead and you follow.
God bless
Neirai the Forgiven
Today I'd like to talk about something that's been on my mind. As you all probably know, I'm not really big on the whole "Judgementalism/Legalism Thing". I find that it alienates unbelievers and renders our attempts to reach people with the Message of Grace rather fruitless. I've begun searching for a paradigm shift, an alternative to the failing system that seems to plague modern evangelism.
I've become a proponent of living righteous lives that show off what "abundant life" should really be like, rather than judging others and pointing out where their lives don't measure up.
I've become a proponent of God giving us free grace and second, third, fourth, and googlplexth chances to try do what He asks us to do, rather than believing that God wants us to follow a set of rules.
And finally, I've become a proponent of God not caring so much where we sit on a scale of evil to perfect, but that God cares more about the overall direction that our lives are moving -- toward Him or towards ourselves.
But, this does present a problem. If, indeed, God doesn't care about how knowledgeable, near-perfect, or crowd-pleasing we are, nor does He expect anything from us except a desire to grow closer to Him, why should we bother to try to live righteous lives? Is there a reason, or are we simply clutching at straws?
Believe it or not, WoW can help us see the reasons why we strive for righteousness, whether the right reasons or the wrong reasons. And it can teach us, using the most unlikely element of the World of Warcraft: loot!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Inspirations from WoW #2: Why strive for righteousness?++++++++++++
----------------------------------------------------------------------
So, the question I have to ask is, why do we try to pursue loot in WoW?
Well, it really depends on who you ask, but there are many reasons:
- Money: Some people pursue loot so that they can get better items to sell on the Auction House. They want to be able to rub a few gold between their fingers, and do so effectively. These players hunt down the most expensive recipes and BoEs so they can turn them into a lucretive cash prize.
- Charisma: Some people pursue loot so they can look good. You know the type: Decked out in epic weapons and tier 2 set items, they stand on the pillars of the AH bridge waiting for people to inspect them. They hunt out new, hard-to-get gear so that people will be awed that they managed to achieve such a rare item.
- Being the Best: Some people pursue loot so they can be better than, well, you. These people obsess with topping the damage charts and winning duels. Best-ing players are powerful gamers and spend a lot of time hunting down the best gear for their build so that they can pump out the DPS (or HPS) better than anyone else they know.
Now, let me stress the importance of this next sentence: In a game, like WoW, there is nothing wrong with this behavior. I'm not judging someone for farming items, collecting sets, or trying to be the best. It is a game. It's fun!
What isn't fun, however, is people who try to do the same thing with their Christian walk. The reasons outlined above are great when they are reasons for hunting down loots, but they honestly suck when they are reasons for righteous living. In fact, they tend to turn 'Righteous living" into "Unrighteous religiousity". Let me explain:
- Money: Some people pursue "righteousness" so that they can make money. Their motive for pious behavior is so that they can get you to donate money to their so-called causes. These people are rare, so don't think I'm bashing good charities. But they ARE out there, and this is a real reason for false piety.
- Charisma: More common are the people who pursue "righteousness" so they can look good. You know the type: They don't do anything wrong, and they virtually ooze goodness out of themselves, vocally. They hunt out new, hard-to-find rules to live by so that people will be awed that they managed to achieve such a rare standard.
- Being the Best: Some people pursue piety so they can be better than you, and especially better than those no-good sinners. These people obsess about being a pillar of the church (a particularly showy pillar) and putting down anyone who does anything wrong. These people spend as much time as possible trying to appear to be perfect and making sure no-one will ever confuse them with a sinner. In fact, they try to stay as far away from sinners as is possible.
Sounds pretty bad, eh?
So, if these are the reasons why people strive for righteousness, why should we even try to do good --- if, after all, it is simply self-serving?
Well, it is because there really is another reason to want to get loot, and, once again, a correlating reason to pursue righteousness. I call it "Getting the Job Done".
You see, each of us has a goal in mind for our WoW characters. Actually, we tend to have several. Mine might run like this:
->Kill Broodlord Lashlayer in BWL.
->Get the whole Genesis Set.
->Reach my server for Christ... or at least the SGA.
->Become the best Teddytank on the server.
->Get an epic mount.
->Show up for at least one guild ZG run.
->Get that awesome legendary staff.
->At least get attuned for Naxxramus.
Now, this list may be big, or small, depending on who is reading this, but you don't have to look hard to realize that a level 60 druid in Wildheart Gear does not even stand a chance at completing the goal of killing Broodlord Lashlayer, or getting the Genesis Set, or becoming the best Teddytank on the server. He just can't. Why not? Because he is not adequetly geared! So, in order to accomplish the goals I have set for myself, I need to get some better gear. In fact, often enough, in order to accomplish the goals that my friends have set along with me, whether it is a guild ZG run or an aSGA Blackwing Lair run, I'm going to need to get some better gear.
Sometimes, if 'getting the job done' means purchasing an epic mount, I've got to get some gold. Alternatively, if 'getting the job done' means beating Vaelstratz, I'm going to need to focus on topping the damage charts. I'm not collecting the gear, however, to make coin or stroke my ego or prove that I'm better than you -- instead, I'm collecting the gear because it is part of playing the game constructively. It's part of Getting the Job Done.
Similarly, this is the reason that we strive for righteousness. We have a goal -- to do what God has planned for us, and we have to get geared up -- most Christians call it 'becoming more Christlike', which is a good defintion for it, as long as you call a mage getting geared up 'becoming more Netherwindlike'. The fact is, in order to accomplish our God-given destinies, or in order to get our daily Christian life onto some sort of farm status, we are going to need to progress beyond the way of living that we had when we first got saved. For many, it is a gradual process, just like saving up DKP to get loots. But in the end, it allows us to do things for God that we would never have dreamed possible --- just like a guild who could not even get Lucifron to 35% health, who after a month of gearing themselves up walks home with Ragnaros dead.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
--------------------------------------------------------------------
So --- why DO we strive for righteousness? The answer is simple: So we can become more like Christ, and in doing so, can accomplish those things that God has created us to do.
As a side note, please notice that this is a striving for Christlikeness, not perfection. Christ was perfect, but that was because He was God. You are not, so don't even bother trying to be perfect. On the other hand, Jesus Christ was marked by a whole-hearted desire to follow God's plan for His life. This one you CAN do. That's what it means to be Christlike. And it is attainable. You just have to let Him lead and you follow.
God bless
Neirai the Forgiven
