Life Lessons From "Call Of Duty."

So I got Call of Duty: Black OPS for a Christmas present. It's one of those games that I hear about all the time but I've never played before. If you've never played then what you need to know is people play this game online. You can play war games like capture the flag, domination, or free for all.  I'm a little behind on the learning curve and it shows. I get killed a lot when I play online...sadly it's mostly by little kids. While playing I've learned some things about life...

1. When You Die Respawn - this is what it's called when you die and come back to life. In life something is going to kill you. Hopefully it will be old age, but I'm not talking about literally killing you. I'm talking about the project that is kicking your tail. I'm talking about that relationship that just isn't right. You can give up or you can respawn and come back.
2. Play With Different Communities - I play on the PS3 and it's a HUGE community. The other day I played against some people who spoke nothing but Spanish. At least I think it was Spanish. They were yelling and singing in another language. In life I like learning from other people. I like hearing other people's perspectives. In life it's healthy to get out of your little comfortable bubble and get around some people who are different. It's a way to grow and stretch. 
3. Play with Friends - for me the most fun has been playing against other friends. I've played against students in my Community Group, friends from WEC, adults in my adult Community Group, my former youth pastor, my brother, and even my wife. In life things are better when done with people you love.
4. Ask Questions - I don't have a fat clue what I'm doing. I've played games where I didn't know what the objective was. When the game ended I called a friend and said, "I don't have a fat clue what I'm doing." That friend and reader of robshep.com is Ryan and he's been very patient to teach me. In life too many people don't ask questions. We either reject something or accept something at face value. I want to ask the right people the right questions.  For example I ask questions to parents and teenagers all the time. When I see a teen with a great relationship with their parents I ask why. I want to know what they did so I can implement it one day with my kids.
5. Don't Be So Serious - Some people take this game way too serious. Some people take life way too serious. If you want to enjoy life you have to play. Think about it, when you were a kid you would play for hours at a time. It was hard work. When I was a kid I'd play guns against friends for hours. We'd run, build forts, and then come home completely dirty and tired. In life if you want to enjoy it you have to play it like it's a game. I know life is serious but we should have fun while we are living it. For example my job. My job is a lot of hard work and it's not all laughs, but I love my job. It's fun to go to work. If you hate your job maybe you are not doing something that you think is fun. Again that doesn't mean that you don't work hard it just means that you enjoy it. Like playing for hours as a kid.
6. Be Careful What You Say Because You Don't Know Who's Listening - With Call of Duty some people have headsets where they can talk with other players. I don't. For some reason though I can still hear these jokers talking through my TV. They don't have a fat clue who's listening. If I had a bar of soap and could equip my Call of Duty character with it I'd tie down their character and wash their mouth out with soap. In life you don't know who is listening. Your words represent who you are. Say things that will represent you well because even if you don't see them someone is most likely listening.
7. If You Want To Get Better Play - I die a lot in this game. This is like the upteenth (I think I made that word up) version of this game. I'm just getting started. People kill me all the time and then talk junk. The thing is I'm learning. I'm playing against people who are really good so that I can become really good. In life if you want to become great at something then be around people who are better at what you do then you. This is why I love teaching as a team. Before I teach at Waters Edge, Lead Pastor Stu Hodges, reads my talk and vice-versa. It helps take it to another level. This is also why I enjoy listening to other communicators. It helps sharpen me and make me better at what I do.
8. Don't Let What People Say Bother You So Much - People say stupid stuff. For about ten minutes straight a kid who couldn't have been older than 10 (when you read this make sure you read it in a really high pitched voice to get the full affect) said, "what's a robshepdotcom. I don't get it. Will somebody tell me what a robshepdotcom is. I'm so confused. I need help with this. What's a robshepdotcom." My username on the PS3 is robshepdotcom. I figured that I might as well promote my blog while I play online. Apparently this child didn't get it. My wife and I thought that was funny. I've had people call me all sorts of names on this game. I'm not that good...I get it...you don't have to cuss me out.  In life people are going to say stupid things. You can get worked up about it or you can let it roll off your back. Life's too short to get worked up over everything someone says about you.
9. Beware of The Sneak Attack - My wife wanted to play over the Christmas break. We were playing in a private match because she had never played before. About four games in someone came into the game and started killing us. I was scared. I told Monica, "I don't know what's going on. I feel like someone is intruding and I'm scared." This mystery person killed us over and over again. Come to find out friends online can enter a private match without any notice. In life you will probably get sneak attacked. I remember one time when a group of students met to talk about what a bad job I was doing as the youth pastor. I was young, but the real problem was I wasn't their last youth pastor. They went to another adult to find support. I'm blessed that this adult had my back. I could have quit but I kept investing in the students and eventually I made a difference in that youth group. I didn't mean for this to happen but when I left the next youth pastor called me and said the students wouldn't stop comparing him to me. I told him to stick it out and beware of the sneak attack.
10. If You Play You'll Talk About It - I didn't know what I was missing until I got this game. Call of Duty or COD comes up in conversation all the time now. In life people talk about what they are passionate about. When you are passionate nobody has to train you to talk about what you love. You don't have to go through courses. When you are passionate about something it comes out in everyday life. As a Christ Follower I want God to come up in conversations not because I'm preaching but because I'm passionate. I talk about the things I love naturally. Chipotle, the Lakers, Monica, my twins, and now COD. I'm not trying to become a street preacher but I want my words to not only reflect God, I want them to be about God. No one forces COD conversations. They just happen because people enjoy it and are passionate about it. I want that when it comes to God.