I admit, I get a little thrill when I hear that little pa-pluck sound.

There are several websites dedicated to these things. I even instituted an achievement system on a forum I moderated for my friends, and they went nuts. “I can haz?!”

They’re addictive though, aren’t they? I really like being told I just achieved something. Even if it’s something mediocre.

Really?

It becomes a problem when we start making them a priority over our real purpose. Achievements, unlockables and other milestone reward systems are just there to tickle our sense of accomplishment. If we were doing something important, I daresay they would be utterly irrelevant.

Thing is, doing important stuff is not always fun. We have a definite sense of purpose, but we like to be entertained. Someone in the game industry had a stroke of genius: capitalize on our innate sense of purpose within games. They developed a something-important simulator.

We like achievements because our lives have actual meaning. We were designed by God for great things. (Ephesians 2:10) I guarantee you your life is about more than your gamerscore. Games are fun. Achievements are definitely fun. But really?

They’re not important at all.

(Related note: achievements feed our desire for instant gratification. The last thing we need is for anything else to feed our desire for instant gratification. It seriously hinders our ability to get through life. For one thing, it makes it harder to pray. If we get stuck in a mindset free of patience, we get frustrated and disheartened if God takes more than 12 seconds to give us what we want. For those keeping track, it usually does.)