M&E--Can't I Conform Just a Little?

While Christians are called not to conform any longer to the pattern of this world, I have a difficult time recognizing this error in the day to day activity of life. Now, I'm not talking about the obvious situations, such as a Christian who cusses, cheats on his wife, and looks to all the world like a man destined for the same eternal reward as shall be theirs when death finds them out. I'm talking about what Spurgeon calls the "little inconsistencies," those slight variations from our conformity to Christ. He says,

"Even small inconsistencies are dangerous. Little thorns make great blisters, little moths destroy fine garments, and little frivolities and little rogueries will rob religion of a thousand joys."

In my life, these worldly echoes, these minor unconformities, often escape my attention. And, in a Christian culture where one is considered at the top of his class if he simply remains married, few other brothers notice when I miss the mark. Perhaps the area that concerns me most, and for which I have no clear direction, is how I spend my leisure time.

I enjoy video games, always have. My generation has been blessed/cursed from our youth. We've grown up with the Internet and higher definition graphics than our fathers ever dreamed of when they went to work and used punch cards to run calculations. This fondness for video games, clearly, is shared by many of my brothers in Christ. In many circles, Halo 2 has taken the place of poker night or bowling. It is this area that has never remained settled in my mind. I know the arguments concerning "gray areas," and by and large, my conscience doesn't dictate that I avoid video games. I also know that a person needs down time to be recharged and useful again when he rises. However, I still have a difficult time reconciling my thirst for leisure with Spurgeon's words,

"Jesus gave both His hands to the nails, how can I keep back one of mine from His blessed work? Night and day He toiled and prayed for me, how can I give a single hour to the pampering of my flesh with luxurious ease?"

The question, then, is "When does relaxation merge into idleness? It is the "little foxes" that can wreak havoc in a marriage; it is the little worldly echoes that can keep us from putting our whole-hearted devotion into serving the Lord.