People have no fear of God in their eyes.

Being a typical guy, I enjoy video games from time to time. And I remember seeing an infographic on youtube that showed that my age bracket (32-40) was the most active in playing video games. That probably comes from being in the same generation that Atari came out when I was young. Then the NES (Nintendo Entertainment System), and the gaming consoles evolved more advanced, better graphics and eventually, so lifelike that the arcades we played with quarters couldn’t keep up and were phased out.
Then came the first person shooters (mostly war games, that you shoot people online). I admit, they sometimes are a great stress reliever since you don’t actually kill anyone. I play it almost guiltless since I’m only on for at most 1 hr a day, if I have time at all. Get on there, let my manly man thing take over with the weak shooting abilities that I have and usually get slaughtered.
The fun part is, I get to play with guns as most men have that hunting instinct. I get to let out steam by shooting others in a virtual world and no one really gets hurt.
The part that hit me today was that while playing, you can also chat with people within the game. Either giving a compliment by letting them know “nice shot” when they got you where you didn’t think you were visible. Asking how to do a technique if you’re a rookie and asking how the day was when you get to know some of them on the server.
But the negative thing is, some parents let their children play these games. I found out that 3 of the individuals playing were 15 (two of them) and 1 was 12. And the 15 yr olds had no issue swearing up a storm when they were frustrated. And the game I play is quite novice in the realm of graphics (it came out in 2004), there’s no swearing in the game, there’s absolutely no nudity, fighting (aside shooting and grenades) no stealing and the list goes on.
I actually find it a tame game. I would still however not let my young teenager play it, especially if he/she is the type of person that gets aggravated quickly if they lost often.
Today, there is absolutely no fear of God or respect for Him in any way. Romans 3:18 describes this perfectly. “There is no fear of God in their eyes”. Young kids are playing games that were designed for adults that know the difference between a virtual world and a real world. And there are hundreds of games that should never have been created in the first place.
Grand Theft Auto series comes to mind. I played the first one for about 30 minutes and I was bored. Wasn’t my type of game. But now the 5th installment of the game was released a few months ago, and there is everything from hotwiring cars, to prostitutes, nude women and actually sex and abusing women in the video game.
If you put someone that still hasn’t lived outside his parents house, still hasn’t had a job and hasn’t had any morality compass taught in his life, how do you think he is going to treat people?
We see it all the time with teenagers now in the mall. They want something, and the parents say no, they will humiliate their parents till they get it. And if they are home, I have heard as far as starting fist fights with their parents.
A 6’ tall young man, whose father is only 5’5”, and half the weight, there might be a struggle if the young man was not taught respect from the start.
I know for myself, my father is 5’6” and barely 140lbs. I’m at 6’4” and tipping the scales at over 200 since I was 23. If my parents didn’t put the fear of God in me, and teach me to respect adults, I can just imagine the struggles they would have had.
Today, the verse mentioned in Romans has never been more true. Children as well as adults have absolutely no regard for future consequences for their actions (talking on a general scale, some still have some moral compass by the grace of God).
If you take their parking space in the mall parking lot, they cuss you out, or worse, some have actually been sent to the hospital with stab wounds or gunshots. Black Friday, a huge shopping day in the USA, has caused fatalities.
I’m not saying Christians are perfect. We aren’t. The difference is, God has now written his law on our hearts, so our conscience is hitting us much harder than it ever was before. I have to say that I probably sin more now that I am saved, ONLY because now I know I do it. Before, if I took God’s name in vain, I never even noticed it. Now, when I hear someone else say it, it hits me hard, like a knife in the heart.
Dear friend, reading this. I know you’re not an ignorant person, you have some common sense and I’m sure you’ve noticed how people are now calling evil things good, and good things evil. God has already set the standard. We can’t change it, because we would change it every year based on our emotions/feelings.
I pray that you look to Christ on the cross, repent of your sin and believe in him.