Last year I hung out with boy cousins, little guys at church and distant boy relatives. Even though they were from different parts of the country and had different backgrounds, they all had one thing in common: Skylanders. This was the second most popular post last year, mostly because concerned parents wanted to know if Skylanders was demonic in some way. That thought never even crossed my mind so my Skylanders post ended up focusing on contentment.
If you want to be cool with young kids these days then you need to brush up on your Skylanders knowledge.
Skylanders is a video game from Activision. In the game the player controls different monsters that are associated with one of eight elements. The monsters can only be unlocked, though, if the player buys their figurines. So, not only does the game cost $60, but also each of the figures costs at least $10 a piece. There are 32 figures in total, which means the total investment in the game is easily upwards of $400.
And every little kid I’ve talked to would gladly spend $400 or more on Skylanders.
I hope whoever thought up this idea got a promotion. Activision is profiting off of our inability to find contentment.
Thankfully I’m not into Skylanders so I won’t be spending $400 on one video game. Even though I’m not into Skylanders, there are still plenty of areas in my life where I need to find contentment.
Contentment is tricky, especially in our western culture driven by materialism. I love Jesus more than anything but there are still parts of me that want and want and want.
I want more watches.
I want more shoes.
I want more Blu-rays.
I want. I want. I want.
We all have the “I wants” somewhere within us; they’re just easier to see in some than in others. Activision understands this about children and has profited off of that knowledge. Instead of railing against Activision’s business acumen, we should acknowledge the “I wants” in our lives and do our best to find contentment in those areas.
God will provide for our needs because he loves us and wants what is best for us. We should find contentment in the fact that if we don’t have something it’s because God doesn’t think we need it.
Just try telling that to a 7-year-old obsessed with Skylanders…or a 31-year-old obsessed with Blu-rays.
What helps you find contentment?
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