The Tyranny of Technology!

Have you ever read Tyranny of the Urgent? (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/087784092X/qid=1114699922/sr=2-2/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_2/103-5351052-3691839) It may be one of the best $1.50 you ever spent. It is a great little book about priorities in a world gone mad with busyness. Why are we so busy? I blame technology.

I was dragged into this new blog world as a great new communication technology. Like all other technology it is supposed to be faster and make life so much better. Part of a blog is apparently to simply send off a purposeless tirade against your object or person of choice. So, I'll give that a try...

Technology's Temptation: I'll admit that I have been seen drooling in a CompUSA store. The eyes grow wide with the newest gotta have gadget. It's a shortcut. It will make life so much easier. It will save so much time! I don't know about you but that has gotta be one of the greatest lies of all time. We all desire shortcuts and want life to be easier but don't try to convince me technology is not possessed. "But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People... having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them." 2 Tim. 3:1,5. Flee from technologies powerful form of godliness - sounds like good avice to me.

Technology's Tyranny: I know that is not good exegesis, but hey I'm in a tirade here. We pursue technology and all of a sudden are trapped by it. When I was born there were no computers other than at NASA where it filled a very large room. Now the power of that computer can be on a handheld computer. Televisions which used to be a luxury are often found not only in every room of a house, but in the car as well. The phonograph was replaced with an 8-track then a CD, then DVD, then MP3, then IPod and honestly I can't keep up. In the office there are all these new programs to combine information in one place, allow desktop publishing, and every other manner of convenience. My phone can't just be a phone anymore. I used to have to carry a small suitcase sized battery along with a large phone in my car and that was a "mobile phone"; then cell phones became popular and then they became smaller and then they became more convenient - it now can surf the Internet, beam information, track contacts, even take pictures, it tracks calendars, finances, directions, games and the list is endless (mine has the Bible on it as well so I guess that's a great advance)! And we just have to have all these things.

And this is a worldwide phenomenon. Helen (my wife) and I were in Egypt a few years ago and walking down a poor area on dusty road we hear a ringing and wouldn't you know a muslim woman wrapped all in black so you can barely see her eyes reaches somewhere under those garments and whips out a cell phone and starts talking. Technology is inescapable.

Technology's Trick: The real problem I have with all these advances is how it doesn't seem to simplify my life at all. I waste more time trying to figure out how to use this technology that is supposed to save me time, than I think I could possibly ever save and the time I do save is simply sucked up by more technology that seems to invade every area of life.

Technology's Truth: Honestly there is nothing wrong with technology in and of itself. It can be a tool for good or evil and has been used for both. The real truth is that technology can push us into the Tyranny of the Urgent and detract from what is most important - God, family and community. That desire in our heart to want life to be better and simpler is a good desire it is simply wrong to demand that technology fill that desire. Technology can become an idol and from that we should flee. The other lesson of technology is that it can save time and make things easier but only by spending time to fully learn the ins and outs of how it works. In that way it mirrors life. There are no shortcuts. Relationships take time and work and this is especially true in our most important relationship with the creator of all things - even technology!

I see many people at Administer Justice who are disillusioned. They thought when they accepted Christ everything was going to be instantly better. They could push a prayer button and everything would work perfectly. The promise of Christ is peace but that peace is only fully experienced by spending a lot of time reading the manual (Bible), using the on-line help (Holy Spirit) and learning by talking with and watching experts (mature believers).

Okay so maybe this pointless tirade had a point after all.

Truth or Consequences: The Trinity Conundrum.

Truth or Consequences: It was a crazy game show. Everyone disguised themselves and when offered something good could either keep it or go for what was behind door number one which often was a goat.

Two weeks ago as I walked by the quiet pond on the campus of Trinity International University to speak to a group of 43 seminary students on conflict issues in the church, I had no idea how that peace would soon be shattered. The first of three letters had already been sent by that time but it was the third letter received last Thursday that caught the eyes of the administration.

"I saw you in the chapel... I had my gun in my pocket, but I wouldn't shoot" is what part of the letter read in court yesterday at the bond hearing in Lake County said. Alicia A. Hardin, a 19-year-old student, stood confused as Assistant State's Attorney, Matthew Chancey, read the letter and the charges of disorderly conduct and committing a hate crime. Apparantly the three letters sent to three different African-American students were designed to get the attention of Hardin's parents to make them think Trinity was not safe so they would transfer her to Jackson State University in Mississippi. According to the Tribune, Hardin simply looked confused as she indicated she was on anti-anxiety medication.

Truth. A small peaceful Christian School. A 19-year-old girl who according to friends was a good kid, and parents who want their child to be protected from the dangers of society and receive a good Christian education. So how did all that get turned upside down?

Consequences. An African-American student sends hate mail to three other African-American students with the consequence of 43 minority students being evacuated to an undisclosed location, the media descends upon the peaceful campus where even Jessie Jackson makes his appearance. Trinity finds themselves in the local and international news including MTV and the New York Times. The New York Times today ran the article and for related news referred readers on their web site to cross-burning cases (www.nytimes.com/2005/04/27/national/27hate.html ). And all of this because one student wanted to go to a different college.

The Conundrum. As a parent don't you wonder how that could happen. How could your child not talk to you about a common issue that confronts thousands of teenagers? Didn't you give them all the material comforts? Didn't you send them to the right schools, churches, and after-school programs? So what happened? I don't know the parents of this teenager and I am not singling them out rather I am highlighting what I believe is a major problem in our fast-paced, game show society. We masquerade at parenting and life. We're never satisfied with what we have and always want what's behind door number one. Somehow we don't think there is anything wrong with that. It's what we deserve: after all, we might even tell ourselves, we're working so hard and building so much for our kids. In the mean time someone else is trying to teach them. They don't talk because we don't talk because we're too tired or too busy. Then we are shocked and appalled when our children do the very same thing. As long as what I'm doing doesn't actually hurt someone else and it helps me get what I want, and really am entitled to, then it can't be wrong. This is justice. Afer all justice is really just about us.

"Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them."

The fear of the Lord. The very words conjure up negative images in the minds of the world. How can you teach proper discipline, respect and reverence? That is brow beating, it is contrary to creative expression, it is the equivalent of cross burning. And the New York Times thinks this teenager is a little extreme?!

We all get trapped in the muck and mire of this world. At first it slowly tugs at us and even at age 19 we take an anti-depressant, but eventually we find ourselves trapped and sinking fast. We are sinking precisely because sin has become our king. Our adversary waits until we are immobilized and then pounces like a roaring lion. But there is a way out. There is a strong arm reaching out to rescue us from life's quicksand. The strong arm of the Lord offers salvation to all those who reach out to him (Isa. 59:1). He will provide us the strength to see things for what they really are. We no longer need to play at a masquerade but can trust him to provide all our needs - even as parents.

"These are the commands, decrees and laws the LORD your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the LORD your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life... Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. ... And if we are careful to obey all this law before the LORD our God, as he has commanded us, that will be our justice." Deut. 6:1-5, 25.

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Why would God allow suffering?

He came into our office limping and in obvious pain. As he collapsed in a chair in my office he began to share his story. Shortly after getting married he had a devastating work injury which had left him disabled. This wasn't what he wanted out of life and it wasn't what his wife had signed on for either. There marriage was in serious jeopardy. His wife wanted him out of the house but he didn' t want to leave his two young boys.

"If there is a God, how can he allow such suffering?" He asked. What would you say?

Sometimes a person doesn't want answers as much as they want someone to listen, to be compassionate, and to demonstrate true concern. Too often we think we have to have answers. The truth is we don't have answers to all the why's in this world. But we do have hope. In the midst of pain there is promise.

Pain's purpose. Pain is never pleasant, but if we did not feel pain how would we learn to avoid a hot stove. Pain serves a purpose. It warns us when something is wrong. It is a siren sounding the alarm to a potentially greater problem. In the case of suffering that something is sin. Our world is fallen, people are fallen and we are fallen. "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." Rom. 3:23.

Pain's path. Physical pain should direct us to a pill or a physician. To ignore the problem will only make it worse. Suffering is the same. Suffering should direct us not to our self but to a Savior. Ignoring the problem of sin will only make it worse. Suffering gets our attention in a way nothing else can. The apostle Paul did not like this lesson any more than we do. He prayed that a physical infirmity would be removed but it was not. Instead the Lord was teaching Paul, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." 2 Cor. 12:9.

Pain's promise. Sometimes a pill or physician cannot fully provide answers to the problem. Similarly there are not always complete answers to the problems created by sin. But we can find a much better hope in the Great Physician than in any doctor. That hope comes from an understanding that God is sovereign - He knit us together in our mother's womb (Ps. 139:13), knows the number of hairs on our head (Mt. 10:30) and has promised to never leave us or forsake us (Dt. 31:6).

Pain's prescription. Physical pain is so much easier to endure. Go fill a prescription, follow the instructions and you'll be feeling better soon. Spiritual suffering is more difficult. In the midst of many external forces over which we have no control, there is a problem which lies in our own heart. The problem is pride. And pride can be a deadly poison that robs us of peace. Pride is the only poison that must be swallowed to be cured. We should examine ourselves and swallow our pride, humbling ourself before a holy God so he can lift us up (Jas. 4:10). We have to yield our desire to control our circumstances to God.

Pain's power. God does not promise to remove suffering. But the power in pain is the promise of peace. The Holy Spirit will empower us to face any circumstance with hope. We can experience peace in the midst of the unanswerable and unfair circumstances of life. But we can only do this through the empowerment of God, we cannot do it in our own strength. No home remedies can cure the common cold of sin. Only Jesus can heal our diseased heart. Only the Prince of Peace can provide peace in a broken and fallen world.

"But now, this is what the Lord says -- he who created you... he who formed you... 'Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not weep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord, your God... your Savior; ...Since you are precious and honored in my sight and because I love you... do not be afraid, for I am with you." Isa. 43:1-5.