“Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
(Joshua 24:15)
One of the most important decisions a gamer ever makes is not which game to play. It is not which keyboard to buy, which strategy to learn or which rank to pursue. One of the most important decisions a gamer makes is this: Who will I play with?
Every gamer eventually chooses a community. Some players wander from server to server, some jump from guild to guild and some play alone.
Every experienced player knows the truth. The people around you shape the player you become. Spend enough time with toxic teammates and eventually toxicity begins to feel normal. Spend enough time with people who constantly complain, blame, insult, and mock others, and slowly those habits begin to influence you.
On the other hand, spend time with teammates who communicate well, encourage others, stay focused on the objective, and help one another improve, and something different happens. You grow. You improve. You become a better teammate. You become a better player. The team shapes the individual and spiritually, exactly the same thing is true.
The people we surround ourselves with shape the people we become. That is why Joshua stood before Israel and declared:
“Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve.”
Joshua understood that every choice of allegiance eventually becomes a choice of identity. Every kingdom shapes its citizens. Every team shapes its players. Every community shapes its members. So, Joshua challenged Israel:
Who are you going to follow?
Which kingdom are you going to belong to?
Whose values are you going to adopt?
These are not merely ancient questions. They are modern questions. Every day the world invites us to join different teams. Teams of selfishness, pride, power, or other teams of worldly things that will eventually end. Each of these teams has its own culture, values, objective and its own rewards.
But Joshua chose a different team. He said:
“But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
In other words, he had chosen his captain, kingdom and his objective.
For gamers, that language should sound familiar. Every successful team shares a common objective. In League of Legends, every player is ultimately trying to destroy the enemy Nexus. In Counter-Strike, the team shares the same mission. In Valorant, Overwatch, Rocket League, Dota, and countless other games, success comes when everyone commits to the same goal.
The moment players stop pursuing the objective, the team begins to fall apart. One player chases personal statistics. Another argues in chat. Another ignores team calls. Another becomes focused on proving themselves rather than helping the team. And suddenly the objective is forgotten.
Many spiritual lives fail in exactly the same way. People become distracted. They pursue recognition. They pursue success. They pursue popularity. They pursue comfort.
Slowly but surely, they lose sight of the true objectives.
The true objectives are becoming more loving, becoming more useful and learning to serve the Lord and the neighbor. That is why choosing the right team matters so much.
Because the right team keeps reminding you of the objective. The right team helps you stay focused. The right team helps you become who you were created to be. Nowhere is this more evident than in heaven itself.
The Lord said:
“In My Father’s house are many mansions.”
(John 14:2)
Many people read those words and think only of heavenly homes, but Swedenborg explains that these many mansions represent countless heavenly societies, countless communities and countless groups united by love to the Lord and love toward the neighbor.
In heaven nobody is alone. Nobody exists merely for themselves. Everyone belongs to a heavenly community. Everyone belongs to a heavenly team, and those heavenly teams are united by a common purpose. Not self-glory, status or power but usefulness, love, and charity.
One of the most fascinating descriptions Swedenborg gives appears in True Christian Religion 745.
He describes seeing a heavenly city with open fields outside it where young people participated in races, contests, games, and activities that developed their abilities.
Think about that. The angels were not isolated. They were not sitting alone. They were learning, growing and competing together.
Enjoying one another’s company. That sounds remarkably familiar. Because one of the greatest experiences in gaming is not winning. It is belonging. It is logging on and seeing your friends online. It is joining voice chat. It is learning and laughing together.
The Lord created that desire for community. The problem is not the desire itself. The question is where that desire leads.
Does it lead us toward heaven? Or away from it?
Does it help us become more charitable? Or more selfish?
More becoming more useful to others? Or more prideful?
That is why the True Christianity League matters. The True Christianity League is not merely another gaming community. There are already thousands of gaming communities. There are countless guilds, clans, servers, and teams.
The world has no shortage of places to play. What it lacks are places that intentionally help people grow spiritually. Places where Christian gamers can choose teammates who are trying to follow the same Captain.
Places where the objective is bigger than winning a match. Places where friendship is rooted in faith. Places where character matters as much as skill. Places where players encourage one another to become better Christians as well as better gamers.
The truth is that nobody reaches greatness alone. Not in e-sports. Not in sports. Not in life, and certainly not in spiritual life.
The communities, teams and people around us matter. Because eventually we begin to resemble the team we play for. That is why Joshua’s words remain so important.
“Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve.”
Choose your captain. Choose your objective. Choose your team.
Because the team you choose today will help determine the person you become tomorrow. As for us, let us choose the Lord. Let us choose His kingdom. Let us choose the team that is preparing for eternal life. Let us invite others to join us in the greatest league of all: The Lord’s heavenly league.
Amen.