Wake Up, Look Up

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hello everyone thanks for listening to

wake up lookup a podcast where we

connect events happening in real time to

the Gospel of Jesus Christ I'm Zach wck

and in today's episode we're asking the

question how is World of Warcraft

connected to Jesus World of Warcraft is

an online video game in some way is kind

of the first major online video game it

just turned 20 I actually read about it

this week in the New York Times it's a

fascinating story it's an online kind of

mythological medieval game where players

band together to clear out Dungeons and

face monsters and Advance uh their army

and their Kingdom over and against their

enemies it's also a massive industry uh

listen I don't know if you have

experience with World of Warcraft but uh

you need to know this even if you don't

know video games there are millions of

monthly sub subscribers it actually has

generated billions of dollars that's

like Dr Evil with a B billions of

dollars from World of Warcraft it is a

subculture unto itself it's been

featured in movies and television shows

uh celebrities are known to play it

Henry caval who Superman Aubrey Plaza

from uh parks and W Vin Diesel from Fast

and Furious movies are all known

celebrity players ERS of World of

Warcraft In fact Henry caval tells the

story that he actually almost missed the

call for getting the part of Superman

because he was in a very intense uh

Dungeon battle as His World of Warcraft

character it is a it is a world unto

itself and it is 20 years old so anytime

I read about a subculture like that what

I try to ask myself as kind of a

theologian is what is this teaching me

about people and what is this teach

teaching me about the God whose image

those people are made in and so with

World of Warcraft turning 20 I want to

just point out four things I think it

teaches us about people and then the God

who made them the first is that God made

people for Community uh we are not

designed to do life alone we are

happiest and most fulfilled when we are

engaged with other people in some kind

of activity the Bible makes this point

time and time again most concretely in

Genesis 2 when God looks at Adam

existing in the perfect world that he's

made and he says hey it's not good for

Adam to be alone what God is really

saying is that it's almost impossible to

image a God who is three in one on your

own because you can't image a community

God on your own it takes Community to do

that it's also true that God has given

us big things to accomplish in the world

that we accomplish best together you are

made for Community maybe you already

know that or maybe you've been ducking

it for a while uh but you shouldn't be

ducking it any longer World of Warcraft

shows us that people even go to an

online video game to find it if that's

where they can find it the second thing

that World of Warcraft teaches us is

that we were made for purpose uh the

interesting thing about World of

Warcraft is it is a video game where you

are constantly setting out to do

something to achieve something to to

move the needle to shape the video game

Universe you are fighting in Wars you

are waging battle to accomplish good and

to defeat evil and these things resonate

with us because we are World Shapers

that's who we were made to be and we

settle for too little of that in life if

you feel like life is losing purpose if

you feel like you can't find it in your

work or your family then go to an online

video game to get it because you're

never going to be happy until you feel

like your life matters of course the

Bible offers that in the Kingdom of

Jesus advancing that we are meant to use

our gifts and use our talents so that

more and more people come to know Jesus

and grow as disciples in him the third

thing it teaches us is that we were made

for adventure listen people don't get on

World of Warcraft to be a character who

sits in a cubicle all day that's because

we were made for something more than

that look the Bible is an adventure it

begins in a garden and it ends in a city

there are Wars there are battles there

are bad guys there are good guys there

are plots and schemes and all kinds of

things going on that's human life we

were made for adventure it's why these

epic stories resonate with us and if

your life feels adventuress you could go

to an online video game to find it or

you could go to The God Who said that

one day there'll be people from every

tribe and tongue in nation in heaven and

yet now current there are like two

billion people have never even heard of

Jesus that's an adventure to give your

money to to give your time to to give

your life to and the fourth thing World

of Warcraft teaches us is if we were

made for

accomplishment God has never wanted to

waste our lives and God calls us to be

fruitful and multiply to shape the Earth

to fill it to have dominion over it one

of the reasons people like World of

Warcraft is because the end of an epic

battle they can look back and say look

what we did

it's the same feeling that you get when

you look at the lawn you just mowed or

the thing you just built or the problem

you just solv we were made for

accomplishment and if you feel like you

aren't finding that in life you'll never

ultimately be fulfilled but you don't

need to go to video game achievements to

find that you can find that by doing the

work God has called us to do as a local

church listen I don't think video games

are bad and I don't think it's bad if

you play World of Warcraft but if that's

the only place you're finding your ad

Venture and your purpose and your

community and your achievement you are

settling for a life that is far too thin

you were made for battle but a real

spiritual battle not an online one hey

thanks so much for watching this video

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