How much good can be done in 28.4 years?

That was the question I asked myself when faced with a stunning statistic. I have played an online pool game that allows you to play against people from all over the world. The operators of this game run a ticker across the top of the screen that gives real-time statistics. It will tell you how many people are currently playing, how many have achieved “Grand Master”, how many have won using only full-powered shots, etc. One statistic stopped me in my tracks. When you count up all the time played in one day, at a rate of 63 games being played every second, human beings play that one pool game 28.4 years a day.

Nearly three decades of the world’s time is wasted every day with knocking virtual striped and solid balls into virtual pockets. And that is only one free internet game! I’m inclined to agree with China when it called video gaming compulsion “a grave social issue” (of course, I disagreed that electric shocks were the best treatment option).

Maybe video games are not a weakness for you, but I’m sure there is some other time-waster eating up the hours of your week. The danger is not that the time-wasters are sinful in themselves. Who doesn’t like to unwind after work in front of the television or computer screen? Only you can determine when the time burned away amounts to a violation of God’s command in James:

“So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.” (James 4:17, ESV)

Looking back on the time spent on my own leisure, I’m compelled to admit there was a lot of good I failed to do. All the Enemy had to do was eat up my time in meaningless games. Suddenly, there was no time left to write that card or make that phone call or visit that friend. Where did the time go? How did I spend it? The better question is, where will I spend it tomorrow?