I want a Nintendo Wii
But. . .before I get to that, a little clarification on my last post. I'm sorry if the last post confused anyone else. Anyway, what I was trying to say was maybe the reason we fail isn't because we lack strength of will. Maybe the reason we fail is because we aren't able to give ourselves up enough to Him. We don't let our sense of self be weak enough to rely on His strength. I hope that clears up any confusion about the last post.
So, here's the background on the Nintendo Wii: relatively cheap console ($250 for the Wii as opposed to the cost of up to $400 for the Xbox 360 and up to $600 for the Playstation 3), motion sensitive controller which should definitely provide some intuitive gameplay, and of course all the sweet Nintendo titles like Zelda, Mario, and Metroid.
I really want one. So much so that earlier today I contemplated camping out with some of my friends who are going to try to get a Wii launch day at Best Buy. A couple of hours ago I was going to go out to Toys 'R' Us and pre-order the new Zelda game because it looks amazing and should pretty much be nothing but a classic. I've been anticipating getting one of these since the early part of this year.
Then it all just hit me: I really want this system.
The key word there is "want." I want to get a Wii on launch day. I want to get a couple of other games, take it home and just have fun playing.
And I decided today that I'm not going to get one.
It has nothing to do with the system itself or how Nintendo conducts itself as a business. It has to do with me. You see, I'm a little bit of a tech geek. I read tech news on digg all the time, I've got an iPod to play all my music, I just bought a 1 gigabyte micro SD card to get pictures from my cell phone onto my computer, and I build computers all day long at my job. I like technology. I like being on the cutting edge, having the new products and all that kind of stuff. Which makes me want stuff. I have this desire to buy all the cool gadgets I want. But G-d convicted me today. What I want doesn't matter. What matters is that somewhere in the world a child is dying of hunger and I've done nothing to stop it. What matters is that our culture is so concerned with entertainment that we spend billions of dollars a year on it while turning a blind eye to the hurt of those around us. And I thought today, well, I'm just going to spend a few hundred dollars on a video game system. What's the big deal?
I don't need it. That's what it really comes down to. Our whole society here in America is about satisfying our wants. We want to be entertained. We want the latest greatest gadget. We want the snazzy car, the big house, the slickest cell phone (yep, that one hurt). We need to wake up and start realizing that we don't need much, and anything we want could be seriously hindering our walk with Him. This mindless consumerism is turning money into our god. Jesus said we can't G-d and the money god at the same time. We can't love both; we'll love one and hate the other. So I'm taking a stand--however small it may be and even though I still really freaking want to get a Wii--and I'm saying, "I don't need it. I'm not going to buy it." I don't need it.
There's so many people in this world who lack things they do need and I have no one else to blame but myself for their state of affairs. So I took the money I planned on spending on the system. . .
$250 for the console
$60 for another controller with the nunchuck attachment
$190 for four games (a couple at launch, plus a couple I'd probably buy next year)
--------------------------
$500 total (estimated)
I gave it to those who do need. It's a small step and I'm not trying to toot my own horn because I'm really nothing special. And I still really really really want to get a Nintendo Wii. But Christ calls me to simplicity. He calls me to love those around me who are hurting and to help those who have less than I.
It's not much, especially when you consider about 10 children die every minute due to malnutrition. But if we all took little stands like this I truly believe we could start an unstoppable revolution.
Oh, and just in case you're wondering who I donated to, check them out here. The organization is called Heifer International. Their main deal is giving livestock to people living in poverty around the world. At first, it doesn't seem like much, but when more than half the world's population is living on less than $2 a day, a heifer, llama (yeah, they give out free llamas--how awesome is that?), or flock of ducks makes a world of difference. It's kind of like that "teaching a man to fish" thing. Either way, I dig what they're doing and hope G-d blesses whoever receives their new heifer.
In the end, I suppose giving to someone who needs food is better than someone who wants a Nintendo Wii getting one. But dang it if I still don't want one. . .
But. . .before I get to that, a little clarification on my last post. I'm sorry if the last post confused anyone else. Anyway, what I was trying to say was maybe the reason we fail isn't because we lack strength of will. Maybe the reason we fail is because we aren't able to give ourselves up enough to Him. We don't let our sense of self be weak enough to rely on His strength. I hope that clears up any confusion about the last post.
So, here's the background on the Nintendo Wii: relatively cheap console ($250 for the Wii as opposed to the cost of up to $400 for the Xbox 360 and up to $600 for the Playstation 3), motion sensitive controller which should definitely provide some intuitive gameplay, and of course all the sweet Nintendo titles like Zelda, Mario, and Metroid.
I really want one. So much so that earlier today I contemplated camping out with some of my friends who are going to try to get a Wii launch day at Best Buy. A couple of hours ago I was going to go out to Toys 'R' Us and pre-order the new Zelda game because it looks amazing and should pretty much be nothing but a classic. I've been anticipating getting one of these since the early part of this year.
Then it all just hit me: I really want this system.
The key word there is "want." I want to get a Wii on launch day. I want to get a couple of other games, take it home and just have fun playing.
And I decided today that I'm not going to get one.
It has nothing to do with the system itself or how Nintendo conducts itself as a business. It has to do with me. You see, I'm a little bit of a tech geek. I read tech news on digg all the time, I've got an iPod to play all my music, I just bought a 1 gigabyte micro SD card to get pictures from my cell phone onto my computer, and I build computers all day long at my job. I like technology. I like being on the cutting edge, having the new products and all that kind of stuff. Which makes me want stuff. I have this desire to buy all the cool gadgets I want. But G-d convicted me today. What I want doesn't matter. What matters is that somewhere in the world a child is dying of hunger and I've done nothing to stop it. What matters is that our culture is so concerned with entertainment that we spend billions of dollars a year on it while turning a blind eye to the hurt of those around us. And I thought today, well, I'm just going to spend a few hundred dollars on a video game system. What's the big deal?
I don't need it. That's what it really comes down to. Our whole society here in America is about satisfying our wants. We want to be entertained. We want the latest greatest gadget. We want the snazzy car, the big house, the slickest cell phone (yep, that one hurt). We need to wake up and start realizing that we don't need much, and anything we want could be seriously hindering our walk with Him. This mindless consumerism is turning money into our god. Jesus said we can't G-d and the money god at the same time. We can't love both; we'll love one and hate the other. So I'm taking a stand--however small it may be and even though I still really freaking want to get a Wii--and I'm saying, "I don't need it. I'm not going to buy it." I don't need it.
There's so many people in this world who lack things they do need and I have no one else to blame but myself for their state of affairs. So I took the money I planned on spending on the system. . .
$250 for the console
$60 for another controller with the nunchuck attachment
$190 for four games (a couple at launch, plus a couple I'd probably buy next year)
--------------------------
$500 total (estimated)
I gave it to those who do need. It's a small step and I'm not trying to toot my own horn because I'm really nothing special. And I still really really really want to get a Nintendo Wii. But Christ calls me to simplicity. He calls me to love those around me who are hurting and to help those who have less than I.
It's not much, especially when you consider about 10 children die every minute due to malnutrition. But if we all took little stands like this I truly believe we could start an unstoppable revolution.
Oh, and just in case you're wondering who I donated to, check them out here. The organization is called Heifer International. Their main deal is giving livestock to people living in poverty around the world. At first, it doesn't seem like much, but when more than half the world's population is living on less than $2 a day, a heifer, llama (yeah, they give out free llamas--how awesome is that?), or flock of ducks makes a world of difference. It's kind of like that "teaching a man to fish" thing. Either way, I dig what they're doing and hope G-d blesses whoever receives their new heifer.
In the end, I suppose giving to someone who needs food is better than someone who wants a Nintendo Wii getting one. But dang it if I still don't want one. . .
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