“Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”

I know most of my readers won’t believe this but on April 3rd, the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio was sold out to 10,000 people for four days and during that time the event generated 71 million online spectator views.  Was it a sports event?  A concert?  A revival? A business conference?  No, none of the above. It was to watch people compete playing the videogame, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.  Who would have thought?  Well, back when I was working in videogames, we did, but the market wasn’t ready.  But, now a decade later, the kids in my Sunday school class don’t fight to see who can get the controllers anymore.  Instead, they hand the controllers over to the best players and then they all stand around and watch them play.  I don’t know what changed, other than this; Those who do, want to get better and appreciate those who do something better than them.  Like why golfers watch golf on TV.  And so maybe this is where we have come to with kids and videogames. There is an applicable lesson in here somewhere for companies that want their consumers or customers to engage with them on a higher level, or for those who seek to help others learn.  It might be they have wanted to watch the whole time, we just didn’t have the right people showcased for them to see.

Was there ever anyone more so than Jesus, in the history of the world, that we wish we could have been there to watch? Imagine to have been on the side of the mountain as part of the 5000 plus fed and taught?  We have the blessing of having Him alive with us today to continue to learn from and then watch as He works within our lives and the lives of others.  We also are taught how to “do” on His behalf. He told us to keep watch and to pray! It is our choice today.  Are we watching Him? Are we praying?

Reference: Mark 14:38 (New Living Translation)