Freedom from a Video Game Addiction

Richard found freedom and purpose outside of a screen or game. Now he lives for something greater than himself. Isn’t purpose what we’re all searching for?

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Transcript
So my name’s Richard. I’ve lived in Eugene for about eight years. In my early 20s, so when I was 21, 22, like I was really depressed and my addiction was pretty much video games. You know, I had a job that I barely did. I just was there because it was a paycheck and it got my back, my dad off my back. But when I wasn’t working and I wasn’t sleeping, I was mostly just playing video games all the time. There was just one morning playing a game for a couple hours. I came to this realization of like, why am I doing this? I’m pretending to have purpose in my life when really in the end, it literally doesn’t matter what happens at the end of the game because it’s the end of the game and I’m still me.

A friend of mine actually invited me out to go visit her church. Funnily enough, the sermon was, I think it was something about like addictions and stuff. And I went up to talk with the pastor after and he helped me kind of realize like, one, it gave me a sense of purpose, like it gave me something to do and it gave me a reason for living, even if I was living vicariously through a bunch of ones and zeros, you know. It was of course entertaining, but it was also numbing. It just helps numb all the pain that I’d feel in life, especially in areas where I didn’t feel like I had control over my life because I can control the character in the video game, take out any frustration in the game.

And so, it was after that, I pretty much, I quit video games and focused on trying to figure out like, okay, should I really be delving deeper into my Christianity, into my faith of God? And if so, what does that mean? What would that mean for me? I think one part that really helped me rebuild my life on Jesus was by quitting the video games cold turkey and then replaced that all with studying the Bible and spending more time in prayer, spending more time, with fellow believers. And especially those who are my age who are also still kind of like new to the faith or trying to really understand. I came to visit Eugene and found out it’s a college town.

So I was trying to figure out what I could do as a career and that’s when I learned like teaching of all things, you know. Teaching history was really my forte. So I decided to go to school to get a degree in education with a focus on social studies. Within a couple of months, I met Lizzie, who’s now my wife and her family. But it was in that moment I got to really understand Christianity from the relationship point of view. And it kind of helped bring me down away from the religiosity of it all and back into my relationship with God. It wasn’t about trying to keep my salvation, it’s always been about living for God because of what God has done for me. My faith has helped me have a sense of purpose. In that I’m able to share God’s love with others. I’m a big believer that actions speak louder than words. Even from like holding a door open for them to fully listening to what someone has to say. Which to me feels like an act of love in the same way that God would want to listen to us as He does want to listen to us and hear us.

The difference between me and God, of course, is I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what that person is going through 100% like God does. But I feel like it does kind of give a sense of belonging, a sense of purpose the same way that I would want to feel. And I don’t fully understand how God works. But I find that I am able to have conversations with people because of what I’ve learned in my faith so far.

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Overflow Hope

Local stories. Real hope in the Central Lane County community. These are the stories of people in the greater Eugene and Springfield, Oregon community who have experienced Jesus Christ change their lives. Their stories prove Christianity is more than religion and that it's possible to change your life. There is hope when you are hopeless, lack purpose or motivation, struggling with anxiety and depression, or just know there has to be more than life than this. We hope these stories show you that Jesus is alive, loving and willing to meet anyone who cries out to Him.

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