Is it a sin for me to keep playing WoW?

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Phrankdatank

New Member
Alright, here's my thing. I've been playing wow for the past 9 months, and like it alot, but am worried that it's a sin to play it, mainly due to all the magic/occult references i see in the game, and the Bible says that Christians aren't to have anything to do with that stuff, right?

One thing that really bothered me was one night i had a dream about wow where I was playing it and on screen appeared these demons in the form of the resto druid tree form, which scared me and i kept saying they weren't real, but they wouldn't leave me alone until I threw wow away, and when i installed it again, they came back and went away only when i threw it away again.

I took that as a sign from God that i should quit playing wow. Do you think its due to the magic stuff in wow or due to the fact that I'm getting addicted to it? I sometimes on the weekend play so much that i can't sleep and get up in time for church.
 
I do not know you but I will be honest in what I think...if you are asking this question and have those kinds of emotions/experiences behind it, I would most definitely say it is a sin for you to play WoW and you should heed the Spirit and stop playing immediately. I am sure you can find many WoW players here that tell you it is OK but in your particular case if you keep playing I fear you will quench the Spirit.

You have been given a sign, act on it and get out now. Church should be a priority as well as fellowship with family and Christian friends. That can be done to an extent in the game of WoW but in your case I think it is clear the Spirit is telling you otherwise.

Sorry if its not what you wanted to hear. :)


ps. this opinion of mine refers only to you and your situation. I know there are many great Christian brothers and sister of mine playing the game and it is not a sin for them.
 
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Something from my study Bible:

1 Cor 10-11:
10For if anyone with a weak conscience sees you who have this knowledge eating in an idol's temple, won't he be emboldened to eat what has been sacrificed to idols? 11So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge.

Is something every right for one and wrong for another (1 Cor 8:10-11)
Sometimes. These steeped in centries-old Jewish tradition found it difficult to believe that there was nothing wrong with eating meat sacrificed to idols. To do so would have violated their own consciences. Paul, on the other hand, recognized that he could eat such meat without sinning (v. 8) Still, he respected the sensitivities of those who did not feel as he did, knowing that they could be condemned by the consciences.
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Rom 14:13-14:
13Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way. 14As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food[a] is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean.

Stumbling block (14:13)
Anything or anyone that causes someone to sin. If your conscience tells you a certain action is sinful, then it is a sin for you to do it. If someone else pressures you into this action anyway - perhaps with rationalizations that the thing is not sinful - tha that person has become a stumbling block to you (1 Cor 8:9-13)
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Rom 15:1
We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves

Strong . . . Weak (Rom 15:1)
The strong in faith were those who understood that certain foods by themselves were not sinful. With the freedom of that understanding, they could eat those foods in good conscience (14:23). The weak in faith did not have that understanding. Eating such foods would have violated their conscience, causing them to sin. (14:23)
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I agree with Ewoksrule. You've had it laid upon your heart that you shouldn't play WoW. In my opinion, you should uninstall it and never touch it again. But that's me talking specifically to you Phrankdatank. Your situation is different than everyone else. You may be fully able to handle something else that we cannot.

Do you think its due to the magic stuff in wow or due to the fact that I'm getting addicted to it?
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Regardless of the reason, God has moved you to quit. It could be the addiction, it could be the influence to "magic", or even something that you're not recognizing as the problem.
 
I think the reason could be a mixture of the game keeping me up all night on Saturday night and then I'd oversleep Sunday Morning service.

One morning, and i believe that instance to be the last straw between me and God concerning WoW, my mom didn't feel like going to Sunday School, so I took advantage of that and instead of going to Sunday school, I stayed home to level my enchanting on WoW so I could farm Pre-BC enchanting mats, and then afterwards went to church where we have this youth group, where we basically sit and talk about stuff, sorta like any other stuff.

So IE i had blatantly put that game before God, and I believe that week was the week I had the dream with the demonic resto druid trees.

Not to mention I had a really bad attitude and when my mom would come into my room, telling me she'd brought me something to eat or to tell me something, I'd yell "LEAVE ME ALONE!" to her at the top of my lungs.

Of course, I play Diablo 2 right now with no problems, but then again i guess as long as I keep it from taking over my thought life.

Had a similar problem back in 2003-2004 when I was addicted to Grand Theft Auto 3 and would constantly blab in 7th grade about the killing and car theft that GTA3 had in it, which got the school counselors worried about me. I was constantly asking the church members if it was OK with God if i played it.

In February-June 2004, I'll be honest, I went through a phase of rebellion against God where I would blame him for "cursing my work" when I'd make a bad grade, and would draw pentagrams and stuff on my binders, again worrying the school counselors and totally denying Christ to the people at school via the Pentagrams(the first half of the year, I'd drawn Christian crosses on my binder). Well I'd been playing Vice City a little prior to that and had listened to this song on it called "two minutes to midnight" and thats where I got the idea to draw the Pentagrams on my binder and tell them that Satan was helping me to ace my tests(I know, I know, I was stupid to even think that). I think that was what killed the whole GTA thing between me and God.

So I go to church camp in July of 2004 and rededicate my life to Christ and then come home and get rid of my GTA games. I tried a couple of times later to get them back, and both times came under the conviction of the Holy Spirit that I shouldn't be playing those games.

I guess when God tells you to quit playing something he doesn't ever change his mind on it.
 
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I'll pray for you man, I know how hard it is to quit something, even when it isn't games. In this case, I do believe you should follow the Spirit's leading and give up the game. You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. :)
 
Keero said:
I'll pray for you man, I know how hard it is to quit something, even when it isn't games. In this case, I do believe you should follow the Spirit's leading and give up the game. You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. :)
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thanks man
 
Life was meant to live and a game was meant to be played thus drop the game when its time to live. You are hands and feet of a huge body and when you don't interact within the body then the body will treat you like an infection and might soon reject the useless part. Use the fear that has been placed within you as time for building up your spiritual armor! Then in return use this to shine in game and in this world!
 
i know its sorta late to say this, but I've wondered if when one gives up WoW or something like that, that there is a possibility that i could come back to WoW or said game later on and play it and not let it get power over me the next time, and be OK with God if i played it.
 
XionTawa said:
You would need to talk to God about that...if you really want to play, ask God if you can...
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Yeah, I would really like to start playing WoW again... but then again I don't want to if its going to keep me up all night and make me skip church again and make me a sour grouch toward my parents and everyone else again.

I probably could solve the church problem by setting parental controls to where I can't play past Midnight on Saturday so i can go to sleep and get up in time for church.

However, I personally don't know why I become a grouch when i start playing WoW. Could it be the elitist attitude alot of people display in the game?

Thats probably my biggest mountain to climb if I am to play this again, because i know that even if I were to keep the church thing under control, if I was snappy at everyone, then God would still not want me to play it. I play Diablo 2 online just fine, too.
 
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Phrankdatank said:
Yeah, I would really like to start playing WoW again... but then again I don't want to if its going to keep me up all night and make me skip church again and make me a sour grouch toward my parents and everyone else again.
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If you don't like how you act when you play WoW, quit.

Given the details in your last post, I don't think it takes divine guidance to know shelving WoW--at least temporarily--is a good idea. If you're staying up all night and skipping church to play, then pull the plug.

As for returning to WoW: I'd advise not thinking about that now, because if you do, you may spend your "fasting period" anticipating your return to WoW.

As for getting frustrated playing WoW: That's no real surprise, especially if you play on a PvP server. And part of the reason why WoW is financially successful is that players are always looking for the next best piece of gear. I think the players who play and enjoy the game push aside the driving need to complete that next quest or finish that next instance.

One essential difference between "fun" and "work" lies in the difference between "want" and "need." Too many WoW players "need" that next piece of gear. (One could make an interesting parallel to tangible material goods and rampant consumerism, but this hardly seems the place for that discussion.)

I also have to add that I retired from MMOs when I quit WoW. I'll still play in open or closed betas of new MMO titles or visit Tribe of Judah guilds using guest keys, but I currently have no intention to return to MMO gaming. But that's a personal decision, made for a number of reasons. From time to time, I still miss the persistent nature of MMO worlds and more social nature of MMO gaming, but I still prefer FPS and RTS titles. Also, I'm no longer at a place in my life when I can regularly block off 2-4 hours of my schedule to play games online. (Even if I could, I don't think my wrists could take it.)

Now I have to post a disclaimer that I fervently believe that playing MMO games is not a sin in and of itself; it's prioritizing MMO games above more important matters (family, schoolwork, church, etc.) that is a sin. In fact, I think MMO games, played in moderation, can be a terrific way to meet and fellowship with other Christians online to supplement (not replace) fellowship at your local church.

Put another way: Eating is not a sin. In fact, it's required to continue living. But gluttony (which, admittedly, can encompass more than just overeating) is a sin. "Everything in moderation."
 
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As it says in one of the tips in WoW: "Take all things in moderation, even World of Warcraft."...

Also, the first 2 things on the thanks list for WotLK, was Jehova-Jirah (sp) and a verse from the Bible... :)
 
I mainly played on a PVE server, so pvp ganking wasn't what frustrated me.

The main reason I'd get mad is if our group did poorly in an instance. I was the tank of the group(played a prot warrior), and if I got killed on a boss in an instance more than once or twice, I'd start wondering how I'd ever get into the next level of instances, and I'd also get really angry at my group.

One time I was doing COT: Stratholme(normal) and the rest of the guys were like level 77-78 and I was the 80 tank, and we died on meathook, and I was so angry that I just left the group and then almost gquit(it was a guild run) when the guild leader told me that dying on tank and spank fights was a common thing. But now i realize that taking a bunch of 78s into a level 80 instances isn't a good idea.

Tanking in itself is a frustrating job for me, especially when you only have like 2000 health left and the healer seems to be taking 5 eternities to get off a heal and/or keeps running out of mana.

I guess if i do return to wow I'll get on another server, join a Christian guild, and then play as a DPS since that's a lot less stressful.
 
part of the draw for a lot of folks is accomplishing things that you're not supposed to be able to do - get to obscure parts of the world (IF Airport, anyone?), completing instances shorthanded, taking off-spec toons into places and cleaning up.... or even taking L78 toons into L80 instances and trying to beat it on strategy and skill.

Your frustrations won't change by leaving the server and finding a Christian guild. We run into the same situations, we just deal with the failures differently. Not that I have anything against WoW (I don't play anymore, but I understand why people still love it)... but based on what your first few posts reveal about your situation, I'd suggest you seriously consider not returning. WoW seems to bring out something in you that other games don't, and it's not something pretty.

Matthew 5:30 says, "And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell." Cut off your hand....or in this case, WoW.
 
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Durruck said:
Rom 14:14: As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food[a] is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean.
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This totally clears things up... Some things are not bad in and of themselves, but the whole point is not to overindulge... Don't do something at all if it starts to become too much of a good thing. It will always develop into a sort of idol worship.
However, take that with the knowledge that bad habits can be overcome. Take alcaholism for example. It isn't a sin simply to have alcaholic drinks (obviously, Jesus drank wine), but it is sinful to get drunk from them (drunkness would be the problem of course). Therefore, if you have a tendency to get drunk, knowing that you shouldn't, then it is sinful for you to have alcahol (probably because you'll wind up overindulging).
Apparently the point is that you have to avoid these things until it is no longer a problem for you. People who overcome their drunkard lifestyles may later have an alcaholic drink and not overindulge, and as long as they continue to keep it contained, it is not a sin.

So if WoW is getting in the way of other things (like Christianity or family), then put it off until you know you're ready to return... And just for some advice on how to keep it from being a problem: don't refuse to quit playing when anybody asks you to stop. Mom asks you to do the dishes? Quit playing immediately and do them (remind yourself that you're rationing WoW time for more important things because that's what God would apparently prefer for you to do).

However, you have to wait until you know you're ready. I suggest praying about it. God will let you know (don't jump the gun because you think you're ready).
Other than that? Abort.
Sorry :(
 
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Yea, I was thinking of Romans.. glad someone posted the quote.

It may be God has something else in store for you as well. . . you should be stoked.

/awaiting activation so I can see the Bible Study links =P
 
I've decided I'm never going back to WoW. Looking back I don't think i can take the stress the game gives, random loot, having to kill 5000 things to get 10 quest items, getting cheaply killed by mobs when I'm trying to level... just angers me just thinking about it.

I actually intensely dislike blizzard now and have no intentions of going back to WoW or any other MMOs.

Thanks for the help, guys!
 
personally i dont think theres anything wrong with playing WOW but the addiction is the problem. If the game or anything else sets itself over priorities like going to church and family/friends time, and also your prayer time with God then its wrong. Actually even ministry if your just thinking of promoting yourself and not God is also wrong. Check out what Durruck posted. Those are bible verses that would make you judge the situation better.
 
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