Pokemon GOes to Church

Pokemon Go has designated our church as a Pokemon Gym, a place to train Pokemon and fight for top pocket monster.  I first learned this from our 30 something Praise and Worship Leader who I believe was one of the first "trainers" to rule the gym with his own Pokemon. Then a couple days later during early morning prayer at the church I noticed a car pull up in to the parking lot about 7:30 a.m.  An hour later the car was still there so I walked out to visit.  Here again was a 30 something male with a Dr. Pepper in one hand, his smart phone in the other and a cigarette hanging out of his mouth playing Pokemon Go.  He was all to happy to explain he came out to the gym an hour before he had to go to work so he could train his Pokemon.  While we were talking another car drove up into the parking lot with the driver holding their phone in front of them above the steering wheel--"Oh, their playing Pokemon Go too." the Pokemon trainer I was talking to explained.  

Now comes the moral implications of Pokemon.  Hard liners see Pokemon as conceived from hell and nothing more than a demon and witchcraft masquerading as a harmless video game.    Others tend to lean towards harmless gaming and a fun way to relax.  C'mon, what's more cute than a Pikachu?  

Where do I stand on the issue?  I see the issues on a couple different levels.  First, I do see the demonic implications and components within the game and wonder if a young person is fully immersed in the game could it open them up or whet their appetite for the dark side of supernatural?  1 Thessalonians 5:22 says to "Abstain (stay away) from the very appearance of evil." So as a parent you should pray and consider these factors before allowing your child to play.  

But there is another dark side I see when it comes to adults playing the game, mainly destiny robbing.  I understand this may be a minority but some become so obsessed with the game, and other games like it, that it consumes all or most of their "free" time.  Rather than pursuing God's purpose and destiny they are allowing these time-eaters to devour their life.  These types of games give a false sense of accomplishment and reward-it's all virtual. At the end of the day they are left with nothing.  In some sense, I see Satan uses these types of tools as a substitute for genuine adventure and a counterfeit for real accomplishment and making a difference in our world.  Oh, it's just innocent entertainment in between work and the responsibilities of life, you say.  I may concede that to you when it takes up fifteen or thirty minutes a day but when entertainment consumes most of your free time and turns into hours each day and even when you're not playing your thinking about it, it now has become an idol, and an addiction, a destiny thief.  

When we have forgotten our God given purpose and destiny in this world, Pokemon can become an empty substitute.   Bottom line, don't let Pokemon or any activity rob you of your true purpose and identity in life.  When you know what God has created and called you to be and do, then it leaves little. if any, time for a Pokemon gym.