When I was collecting questions for my Q & A blog a friend asked me a question about a table top game I used to play called Warhammer 40K. I played this game a lot, and it was my primary hobby for several years. Not only was I playing it for fun, but I was trying to break into the top tiers of the competitive scene and frequently traveled out of the state and found success at for major tournaments. I wrote a post on a blog I used to talk about 40K in response to his question, but upon it growing into something more than I intended, which raises some points I would consider valuable to consider no matter what our hobbies or passions are, I decided to repost most of it here, starting several paragraphs in. I would appreciate any feedback or thoughts you have on the matter.
Last May I graduated from college and began preparing for a year of ministry abroad traveling to eleven countries in the developing world over eleven months with only what I could carry in a backpack. Not only would I be using all three of my degrees but I would also be fully living out my faith and social justice values.
As part of my preparation it became clear in my heart that I needed to give up table top gaming. I already was selling all of my other possessions as part of my fundraising, so it would be out of place that I would hold onto this while casting off the rest of my life. Plus not playing freed up time for me to both get an additional job and spend a greater amount of time preparing mentally and spiritually for what was to come during my year abroad. I played in one final tournament on my birthday; placing third with a silly list that was made up of models borrowed from seven of the gamers who had became my friends thanks to the gaming community.
Then it was over. I had joined the uncounted ranks of former Warhammer players.
Honestly though, I am glad I quit cold turkey. On one hand it was, and will always be, worth it by virtue of making my present life of teaching orphans in El Salvador, working with gang members in Honduras, and speaking messages of freedom in Albania possible; on the other hand, in a less immediate sense, it is a full expression of a truth which hides just beneath the surface and is never fully talked about in our community.
The Warhammer community does a lot of good; Foodhammer, Toys For Tots drives, and numerous events to support members of our gaming family who have faced tragedy. Even the Nova Open has/is becoming a charitable endeavor. Our community is full of bright minds, incalculable skills, and bold hearts which seek a more just world. What if the time, talents, and vast financial resources of our community, rather than being invested in the games we both enjoy and challenge ourselves with were instead applied directly toward curing the ills of the world. What if those events which bring out the best of our community became the focus of our community?
This is not a call for everyone to abandon table top wargaming, I cannot make that decision for everyone, that is for you to discern. I would though challenge you to ask the questions which were in the back of my mind as I rolled dice and sought glory on a miniature battlefield. I encourage you to address with your gamer buddies the elephants in the room. How do we justify spending the sums we do on models in a world where innocent children are dying every day from starvation? How do we account for the hours spent building and testing lists when that same degree of research and strategy could bring great strides in tangible plans to stop the rampant human trafficking that enslaves a greater number of human beings than were captive at the height of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade? What if the devotion and consistency we applied to reading 40K blogs and listening to Warhammer podcasts was applied to further educating ourselves and generating true civil discourse over these and other issues which challenge our society and world?
These are the elephants in the room at every tournament hall. It may only be now that I am abroad that I physically look into the eyes of the starving and hold the cold fingers of those who could have their lives saved by our community, but I have known for a long time the cost my (our) actions and choices. Maybe you play these games to, “Get a break from the real world,” but to deny that each hobby room contains the resources necessary to change lives is to disregard the empiric fact that if we choose to continue to use our discretionary income in this way then we sentence other human beings to death. To refuse to accept our connection to these issues to use the same defense that has been used by the bystanders who allowed the greatest dehumanizations and violent acts of our world to occur. That is not flagrant hyperbole, that is the true that is before my eyes each day.
If you read this and change nothing, keep on playing and enjoying the game that I loved and I look back on with the fondest of nostalgias, then I am sorry. Despite the pain that would place in my heart, I cannot judge, I continued to play and spend and invest my time even though I knew these truths. If this leads something to change, or a conversation to happen in your gamer group though, I would love to hear about it.
“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature…” -Colossians 3:1-5
*Want to help make more moments like the one described here? Without the financial assistance of others, this trip, or any missions work for that matter, would not be possible. Paul requested the early churches to support missionaries financially (Romans 16:1-2) and in fact Jesus himself instructed those going out to witness to the world to have faith be reliant on their communities to support them (Matthew 10:5-15). I need to raise an additional $5,500 to complete my full eleven months of ministry. Please consider making a donation to support my missions work by clicking here.
**Want to stay up to date and be alerted with my progress as I serve around the world? Click here!
