Q: I’m a gamer and I want to know if I’m committing idolatry because I play video games way too much. I read the Bible every morning and pray afterward, but I still have the temptation to play games all day. I get really excited to play video games, and I pay more attention to video games than to Jesus. It even scares me to say that I do that. – Jacob

Answered by Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC

A: It’s good that at least you realize that video games can be a form of idolatry. Many gamers never give a second thought to spending endless hours on the screen.

If you are paying “more attention to video games than to Jesus,” then that by definition sounds like a form of idolatry.

It’s good that you read the Bible every morning. Reading Scripture deeply and praying over it should help us to change the course of our daily lives and put God at the center.

Jesus himself said, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment” (Matthew 22:37-38).

One way we honor God is by using well the talents he gives us. One of those (often underestimated) talents is the gift of time.

All of us will have to give an account at the end of our lives about how we used our time.

If you are squandering your time on video games, it is worth a rethink.

The Holy Spirit might be nudging you to strictly limit your gaming time, if not give it up altogether.

Another consideration is what kind of video games you are playing. Are they violent or racy? If so, that’s even more reason for dumping them.

To aim higher, it’s worth keeping in mind the words of Catholic poet, playwright and diplomat Paul Claudel, “Youth was not made for pleasure, but for heroism.”