When I was in the first grade, something amazing happened.
A revolution in home entertainment occurred in Japan.
Until then, kids and adults played videogames at the local arcade, and this was a common activity for kids.
Now you could play games on your TV at home.
In July 1983, Nintendo Co., Ltd. released the Family Computer (a.k.a. “Famicom”) videogame console.
What was so amazing about this console was that you could play a variety of games by swapping out game cartridges. It may not have been the first home console to exist, but it did solidify the business model and videogames are now a multibillion-dollar industry.
New games were released one after another, and many children, including me, who were born in the mid to late ‘70s, were obsessed with video games.
One day, my parents took me to the shopping mall, and I found a newly released game.
It’s was a top-rated ninja game according to a then popular kid’s magazine.
I immediately picked up the box that contained the game cartridge and was tempted to buy it on impulse.
Looking at the price, I saw that it was sixty US dollars at the time.
That price was much more than I (and most kids) could afford.
I wanted that new game so badly that I went home feeling very frustrated.
Not giving up, I made a promise to my parents that I would help around the house more if they helped me purchase the game.
Thanks to my parent’s understanding, I was able to purchase the game finally and enjoyed it with my friends.
Not long after that, an incident occurred in the same shopping mall.
A group of boys committed theft, causing considerable damage to the store, including clothing and many game cartridges.
Soon, the authorities caught the group of boys.
They said, ‘We want clothes and games,’
Well, we all have such desires, it is part of being human.
However,
‘You can’t steal it.’
We all know that too.
The mind of ‘wanting’ comes from your desire.
The mind of ‘behave’ comes from your consciousness.
Everyone has these dualities within.
Although we have to be right all the time, there is a possibility that we may end up being involved in injustice.
The story above is about children; however, it’s also true for the adult.
When it comes to desires, adults can be somewhat prone to excess.
In the business world, injustice never goes away.
In the world of politics, injustice never goes away.
It all comes from lust, and in essence, it’s no different than a child wanting a game.
The wars that have been repeated throughout human history are also primarily generated by desire.
‘We need resources.’
‘We need food.’
‘We want territory.’
At the same time, however, we all know ‘you should not murder people.’
It all starts with human desire.
Of course, it’s not true that desire is wrong.
God gives us desires for the sake of human progress, and we can never get rid of them.
Every person has desires. However, the truth is that there are two kinds of desires: healthy desires and evil desires.
Essentially anyone can have both of these, and it is up to you to decide which side of the pendulum you want to touch.
Many people exert a healthy desire, but sometimes people can fall into showing an evil desire.
Our desires never cease to exist.
That is why we need to continue to exercise our healthy desires, and we can also continue to be a good example to others.
In other words, we need to have the ability to suppress the evil desire.
I will continue next week.
Enjoy your life more, and stay tuned to World Divine Light.