Fighting Over The Controller
What is the number one thing that sets games apart from all other art forms?
Control.
Think about it: what other art form invites and empowers its audience to exert so much influence over the experience as games? Control is a central component of the whole experience; it's almost a requirement. It's such an essential part of the experience that companies like Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony spend millions of dollars researching, designing, and refining unique and novel hardware (controllers) to assist the player with this task. The Wii remote is a prime example of the effort expended on a controller. According to Wikipedia, Nintendo spent five years honing their design of the Wii remote, which paid off in spades. Its innovative motion controls became one of the key selling features for the console and the secret sauce to its success.
Long before the Wii, my friends and I spent countless hours on the original NES, SNES, and its competitor, the Sega Genesis. Back then, there weren't many multiplayer games—most games were one or two players max. Which meant everyone crowded around the console and anxiously waited for their turn. In my group of friends, it wasn't uncommon for fights to occasionally break out over the controller. Sometimes, those fights would escalate into full-blown wrestling matches with kids tangled up in the cords. Inevitably, the console would get knocked to the floor, resetting the game and losing all progress.
The Evolution of Video Game Controllers
Design by: Pop Chart
Location: My Office
Wrestling over the controller as a child is an apt picture of what I've been doing with God for most of my life. I don't think I'm alone in desiring to be the one holding the controls to our life; it seems most people do. Despite the desire, I don't believe that's how it works, at least not for followers of Jesus. Proverbs 16:9 tells us: "In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps." And Jesus' half-brother James reminds us that we don't know what tomorrow will bring, no matter our plans.
“Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”—yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” ”
Throughout my life, I've prayed prayers where I've surrendered control to the Lord. However, he and I both knew I still wanted to be in control. And if, for some reason, he ever felt like giving me back control, I would have gladly accepted it. But the other day, something strange happened. I heard myself tell God I didn't want to be in control. I didn't want control? It stopped me mid-prayer. I have NEVER had that thought in my life, let alone said it out loud! But that morning, I said it, and I truly meant it.
After reflecting on what I had prayed, God directed my thoughts to Moses and asked me a question. What would have happened if Moses had been in control? I thought about it and concluded that they wouldn't have escaped. Even if Moses had the best-laid plan with the cleverest route, there is no way they are outrunning the Egyptian army. God knew that, and now I knew it, too, which is why he had control of the evacuation plan. He planned a path (through the Red Sea) that Moses didn't even know was an option! Only God's plan and his plan alone could have saved Israel, stopped the Egyptian army, and become one of the most spectacular moments in Moses' life and the Bible.
I still like to be in control, and I celebrate that games allow us to exercise our control in safe spaces. However, I'm slowly realizing that wrestling for control of my life isn't the best choice. Even at 43, I'm a noob in the game of life, while on the other hand, God has leet skills, deep strategies, unlimited experience levels, and an understanding of all the systems, which makes sense when you realize he's the designer. In light of that, the choice to hand over the controller to him is a no-brainer.
