The Real Deus Ex Machina...Examples From The Video Game Destiny

We are pretty hardcore gamers at The Capable Genius, the two favorites being Destiny and Halo (all the Halo franchise, but don't get us started on the lack of splitscreen in Halo 5).

Merits, or lack thereof, of gaming in a spiritual life aside, there are some great analogies in Destiny for the Godly Geek, especially regarding the Cryptarch.

For those who don't play, in Destiny players go do missions, raids, patrols, then bring what they have found to the Cryptarch (there are two, actually, but our fav is Master Rahool at the Tower).

He decrypts all the "engrams", or little shiny baubles, that you get while you fight the bad guys.  You never know exactly what you will get, which could be weapons or armor.  He also gives rewards for doing a good job. 

Consider:

1) There is Always a Crowd but He Always Has Time for Each Player.   Just like with the Cryptarch, I don't have to wait for others, perhaps "more holy" folk, to clear out of the way so I can see God.  I am not last, I am not first, I am not 3rd from the bottom or 4th from the top.  My access to God is immediate as soon as I come close to Him.  I might see a lot of folk, but really it is just down to Him and me.  (Kierkegaard has some cool stuff to say about this)

2)  I Can't Compare Myself to Other Players.   I can see their gear and their armor and might be tempted to compare myself ("Why haven't I gotten The Last Word?"), but that would be foolish.  I have different skills and armor and weapons and different classes.  The Titan can't do what I do, and I can't do what he does.  The point is to be the best Hunter I can be, not look at any other player.

Even among Hunters, there is difference.  Skyridersam is also a Hunter who has been playing longer and is a "run and gun" type player.  I am the team sniper and think my way through maps.  So while his style of play is good, so is mine, and both of us together make an excellent team. 

Also, mine is the only controller on our team that is Inverted Southpaw.  That is what works best for the way my brain is wired.  That does mean the other players can't do my work for my character.  I have my own work to do my own way.  When there is a hard part, I have to get through it, not let other people do the work for me.  Just like IRL, each person has their own job to do with the way they are made.  No one else can live their life and do their work, each has his own.

We each are given a set of skills, in real life, to do the work the Lord has for us. The goals are the same in each life:  love God, love others, do the best with the talents you have in the situation you are in, but each person has different skills to do those.  No one (should) look down on the lowly level 8, carrying his two green engrams--he did the best with what he had and that was enough, just like the servant who doubled his 2 talents was just as highly praised as the servant who doubled his 5. (Matt 25:14-30)

3)  There Is Plenty For All--the Cryptarch has plenty of help decoding engrams, plenty of rewards.  You are rewarded for what you have done, and he won't run out of anything.  The Lord, too, never runs out of blessings for us.  He could choose to give every one of His children a million dollars and the ability to fly and it would not be the least bit stretch for Him, and it would be done in an instant.

4)  He Is Glad To See You-- no matter if you are a level 40 needing a bunch of legendary engrams decoded, or a newbie level 7 who has his first green (lower level) engram.  The Lord, too, does not discriminate against persons--if you come to Him, He welcomes you, no matter how bad you were playing the life game til you came to Him.  He helps you with your level and is there for you at all times.  Even if you failed a "mission" 7 times, He does not kick you out of His fold.



A few more analogies:

You will run into false Guardians--those who seek only for themselves and would probably be on the evil team if they could.  Now, we could say they are just playing, that is not the person, but a person practices what they desire. 

I ran into a couple of Kinderguardians (new players) who were eager and rambunctious, but harmless (and kind of fun to have hanging around).  I also ran into a creeper who was exhibiting very disturbing behaviors through his character.  Even though he wore the clothes of a Guardian and had the moves of a Guardian, he was not one in his heart.  Not every one who has the appearance of goodness is good.