Danny ChaiWe got to play some Dr. Mario 64 this weekend, which was a lot of fun. Minho’s still talking about his sweep the last game, but ask him the overall record that night and what levels we were playing. Scoreboard.
Anyway, whenever we play, Jieun and I bust out some phrases that were started mostly by Dave when we used to play together. For example, when people start off playing Dr. Mario, they usually do poorly, because it’s a totally different paradigm from Tetris and Puzzle Fighter. But once they make that mental breakthrough, they make rapid progress. And when this happens, we say “he is beginning to learn at a geometric rate” in a faux Austrian accent, in reference to the line from Terminator 2.
Anyway, we were busting out a couple other classic phrases and I was reminded of the spiritual significance of Dr. Mario. I’m not joking. One big mistake beginners make is not realizing that the point of the game is to clear the viruses – they just endlessly clear blocks as if they’re playing Tetris. But it’s not Tetris – there’s a purpose, a goal, and an end. You’re not just supposed to play until you die, you’re supposed to finish something. So when people were just clearing blocks without making real progress, Jieun commented on how they were just doing “maintenance ministry”. And I chimed in with “without vision, the people perish”, a paraphrase of Proverbs 29:18.
I don’t think anyone had any idea what we were talking about, but it’s true, both in Dr. Mario and in life. You cannot win in Dr. Mario doing maintenance ministry, just managing the blocks that come. You need to make progress in clearing your viruses. And without a vision for how you’re going to clear your viruses, you will die.
It had been so long since I’ve heard the phrase “maintenance ministry” that it made me stop and think. Am I doing maintenance ministry in life? Just managing my spiritual and church responsibilites, not driving towards something, pursuing a vision? I actually think in a lot of ways, I am. And I want that to change. I think I’m pretty good at being faithful with the responsibilities I’m given. I’ve been reminded again to go beyond that, beyond mere faithfulness, to moving toward something, not just treading water. Vision. No more maintenance ministry. Otherwise, I think it’s a slow slide towards spiritual lethargy.
So thank you Dr. Mario for that spiritual insight.