Most video games involve collecting a lot of "stuff." Among other things, Mario collects his golden coins and his Power Stars. Link collects his rupees and his Gold Skulltulas. Cloud collects his Materia. And so on.
Sometimes, collecting all the "stuff" in a game is optional. You don't have to collect all 120 stars in Super Mario 64 to rescue Princess Peach. You don't have to collect all the Gold Skulltulas in Ocarina of Time to save Hyrule. You don't have to obtain the elusive "Knights of the Round" Materia in Final Fantasy VII to stop Sephiroth from destroying the Planet.
Still, for most gamers, collecting the stuff is a major part of the overall experience of a game. That's part of what keeps us coming back and clocking in all those hours in all those virtuous virtual worlds.
Some stuff is harder to find than other stuff. Some stuff is more valuable than other stuff. Some players are so dedicated that they'll spend dozens of hours mastering the game just so they can snag whatever that object is that they're seeking.
This obsession with collecting can spill over into the world outside the game. Sometimes, the game itself is worth its weight in Gil (Gil being the popular currency in Final Fantasy for those of you who are scratching your heads).
Some rare games have been known to sell for tens of thousands of dollars. Consider the sealed copy of Stadium Events, an extremely hard-to-find game for the NES, that went for a reputed $41,300 on eBay. The story goes that the person who sold it bought it for $29.99 when it first came out. Then they realized that they couldn't play it, because it required them to purchase an extra peripheral called the Power Pad. Lucky for them, instead of returning the game to the store, they decided to let it collect dust for twenty years or so before they remembered it was there and found out it was worth a pretty penny.
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Personally, as interesting as the seller's story is, I'd like to know more about the buyer. What sort of person would actually pay that much for an unopened copy of Stadium Events? Were they a rich geek who just needed it to complete their perfect collection? Did they have sentimental memories of playing the game as a child? Were they a salesperson who thought they could get even more money out of the game?
Who can say? One thing we know for sure: to pay that much money for a hard-to-find treasure takes some serious dedication.
Jesus said the Kingdom of Heaven "is like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it" (Matt 13:45-46, NLT). This fits the eBay story above nicely, although I'm assuming (hoping) the person who bought Stadium Events didn't have to sell everything they owned to buy it.
As ridiculous as it may seem to spend so much money on a video game, it's only ridiculous for those who don't have spiritual hungers.
Heckler: "Doesn't everybody have spiritual hungers?"
Exactly. Even Christ's parable of "The Pearl of Great Price" may seem ridiculous if taken literally. What idiot would spend everything he had to buy a single pearl?
It's not really about the pearl, though, is it? It's what the pearl represents. Spiritual hunger. Truth. Personal contact with God. Some things are worth seeking after. Some things are worth selling everything you have to obtain.
No, I don't recommend that you "go thou and do likewise," spending tens of thousands of dollars on a pristine copy of your favorite video game (although I confess I did spend about $40 once to obtain a boxed Collector's Edition of Ocarina of Time...go ahead and laugh, if you must). What I do suggest is that when it comes to the things that really are worthwhile, we spend ourselves to the max to obtain them. You know, things like "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind" and "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Matt 22:37-39, NLT). Kingdom of Heaven stuff.
Taken symbolically, the Stadium Events purchase isn't so ridiculous after all, is it? If you still think so, just ask yourself this:
What would you spend everything you have to gain?
