Pray that God will give you wisdom to know how to address the “addictions” that tempt and can enslave individuals, destroy marriages and devastate families.

X-ing the Xbox No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other,or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. - MATTHEW 6:24 In their book Playstation Nation, Kurt and Olivia Bruner tell the story of a mom who finally had enough. Enough video gaming. She had already earned high marks for unpopularity by limiting her boys’ game time to one hour a day. But when she came in one night before bed to tell them, “Time’s up,” they wanted to “finish a level” of their game before saving their progress. So they made a fatal choice: Instead of shutting the game off, they paused it instead . . . and returned to it in the middle of the night. When Mom woke up at 2 A.M. and noticed the light emanating from downstairs, she went ballistic at first. Then she disappeared into her bedroom and paced the floor in prayer, asking God for wisdom about how and when to strike. Finally resolved, she went in each room and began pulling plugs and boxing up every piece of game system she could find. Then—with her boys watching in horror—she opened an upstairs window in their three-story house and dropped the whole thing to the ground. Ah, the beautiful sound of smashing electronics! Drastic? Yes. But one of those boys left soon after for college with seven of his buddies. Before the first semester was completed, four of the seven dropped out and returned home to take part-time jobs so that they could have more time for video gaming. For one young man, however, the addiction was gone, thanks to a parent who cared more about her children’s character than their point totals or her popularity. If video games have taken control of your house, maybe it’s time for you, too, to bring your kids back to reality. DISCUSS Discuss video games and their impact on your family. What are some reason able limits to place on your children?