I used to assume “free time” was a modern invention, that hobbies and play only exist because grocery stores and modern conveniences give us time our ancestors never had. That, I thought, must be why the Bible doesn’t really talk about how we play.

But that assumption was not only historically messed up (electricity created more workaholism, not less), it was also biblically messed up. There may not be any “how many hours to spend on Mario Kart” Bible verses, but Scripture gives us plenty of clear principles for evaluating the way we play.

And that’s exactly what Episode 3 of EXP unpacks.

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To prepare for this episode, we asked our social media audience, “What Bible verse or ministry leader influenced your free time habits?” If you didn’t get a chance to join the conversation, you can use the button below to comment here with your answer, or click the image to start following @bythebookgames on Instagram.

So far in EXP, we’ve laid a foundation for how to think about play, big picture: why to care, and why it’s good, both from a health perspective and a biblical faith perspective. But next week, we switch from a bird’s eye view to a concrete case study.

How does all this affect, say, the way we experience a roguelike deckbuilder computer game? And what the heck do those words even mean? Find out next Thursday in your inbox.

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