Set Free from Addiction to Computer Games

Rico - Frankfurt, Germany

Hi, my name is Rico and I would like to share my testimony of how the Lord freed me from being addicted to computer games!

I got my first PC for my 12th birthday, and from that day forward, I started playing computer games. For the first couple of years I played “Age of Empires II”, then later I got interested in strategy games like “Rome: Total War”, or “Empire Earth”, where you can play the history of the Earth from the Stone Age up to present day and into the future. Some of my friends told me about action games, and I soon got into them too... They were fast-paced and exciting, completely different to anything I had played before! Over time I got more and more hooked on these games. I bought magazines and studied everything about the games I was playing, and spent my time talking about the games with my friends; which, of course made me want to play even more!

At this stage I bought a new game nearly every couple of weeks. I would buy the latest game, or sometimes just look around in the shop for something that I might like. I was still at school and didn’t have much money, but all I had, I spent on games and gaming magazines. When I was 17 I spent €1200 in one year! I was completely fixated on computer games .

In 2005 I started an apprenticeship, and at work a colleague told me about Jesus and that the Bible was true. I came to some Christian meetings and realised that this was really important. Jesus asks that we follow him fully if we want to be saved: “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it” (MARK 8:35).

My decision to give up my old life came during the soccer World Cup in 2006. I’m a big fan of the Italian team, and the night when the final was on I prayed to the Lord “Please let Italy win and I will follow the Bible.” Praise God for his answer – Italy won! Four days later, after this miraculous prayer answer, I was baptized. It was very exciting as I followed the steps of how to become a Christian as given in ACTS 2:38, in the New Testament: “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost”.

In December 2006 our assembly held a big meeting and it was during this fantastic time that I realized, through the Holy Ghost, that I didn’t need my computer games whilst in the company of my new brethren. A couple of weeks later I went on vacation for a week. During this time I was reading my Bible every day for more than two hours. It was awesome to relax and read the Word of God. I also played computer games, but it was not the same anymore, something had really changed in my heart!

Then one night, when I was back at home, I prayed for a while before going to bed. I prayed to God: “Please let me wake up tomorrow without the desire to play computer games anymore.” The next morning, I woke up and looked over to the place where I kept my games. It was amazing; God had taken all my desire away! I got out of my bed and praised the Lord for answering my prayer. After a good breakfast, I put all my games in a box and got them out of my life! Now my life is filled with real experiences and I’ve discovered the truth of the scripture in JOHN 10:10: “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

God took my desire to play computer games completely away, and I thank Him for freeing me from my addiction!

Rico