As you can imagine, I have been thinking about technology quite a bit over the past few weeks. Having come face to face with the possible loss of information and frustration of losing a hard drive on a laptop computer, I have thought a lot about how I use technology. At the same time, however, I have been thinking a lot about how technology uses me.
Having just turned 37 years old, I feel as if I am not that out of date. I use technology to a point that is somewhat cutting edge. I frequent the Internet, I have a cell phone, I use a palm pilot for my calendar and phone book, and I can often figure things out without using directions (much to the chagrin of my wife.)
Yet that double edge sword reaches into my 37 years, and I realize that there is so much more that has passed me by and I am actually out of touch. Last night I sat and watched my nephew type “text messages” with feverish pitch. It would have taken me 10 minutes to type what took him 10 seconds.
Technology is for me a classic double edged sword. It is both a blessing and a bane, it is both useful and useless, it is awesome and at the same time disgusting.
I love email. I can type emails off to people instantly and know that they will receive it. But if I tried to call them, I may have to leave a message or not get through at all. I love my computer. I can look up a passage in the bible with a keyword, rather than thumbing through a concordance or relying on memory. I can type a letter much cleaner and neater than I would by handwriting a note, and I can have it done much quicker too.
I am itching to move into new areas of technology too. It’s not limited to my computer, cell phone, and my palm pilot. They say that an MP3 player could hold your entire collection of CD’s that linger on your shelves. For some that may be your collection of Moody Blues, or Third Day, Rush, or dare I say Herb Albert and the Tijuana Brass.
Yet the very thing that connects and frees us, actually disconnects and burdens us. Substitute the word us for me, me for you, you for whomever you choose. While the technology has allowed us more time, it takes us away from the things that really matter the most.
When my computer was down, I actually had to pick up the phone. When my computer was down, I actually had to write some notes. When I forget my cell phone, I actually have to sit and pray.
Yet I also realize that if I didn’t have technology, I wouldn’t be able to connect like this with you. We are affected by this thing called technology in different ways, but I hope that in the end, we can always be mindful of what our purpose is, and how we use it for benefiting our relationships, rather than substituting them.
It’s amazing to me to think that a type-set copy of the Bible was technology a long time ago. It was the way that God was able to get his message into our hands, to connect with us, and to make himself known. Before that – people had to rely on something different.
So I guess there are benefits to the newest, the latest and greatest. I would however, hope that that will not supplant your personal relationship with God. There is nothing that will substitute for the personal relationship that comes with communicating with God. On those same lines, there is nothing that can really substitute for person to person relationships.
I invite you to come and have contact with a human being this week in worship. We’ll be using some technology from various periods in our history, but it won’t substitute for our personal relationships that we have with each other. We’ll have an opportunity to give thanks for so many things as we prepare for our Thanksgiving Holiday. I hope to see you in worship. Until then,
Please pray for me, and know that I am praying for you.
Greg
Having just turned 37 years old, I feel as if I am not that out of date. I use technology to a point that is somewhat cutting edge. I frequent the Internet, I have a cell phone, I use a palm pilot for my calendar and phone book, and I can often figure things out without using directions (much to the chagrin of my wife.)
Yet that double edge sword reaches into my 37 years, and I realize that there is so much more that has passed me by and I am actually out of touch. Last night I sat and watched my nephew type “text messages” with feverish pitch. It would have taken me 10 minutes to type what took him 10 seconds.
Technology is for me a classic double edged sword. It is both a blessing and a bane, it is both useful and useless, it is awesome and at the same time disgusting.
I love email. I can type emails off to people instantly and know that they will receive it. But if I tried to call them, I may have to leave a message or not get through at all. I love my computer. I can look up a passage in the bible with a keyword, rather than thumbing through a concordance or relying on memory. I can type a letter much cleaner and neater than I would by handwriting a note, and I can have it done much quicker too.
I am itching to move into new areas of technology too. It’s not limited to my computer, cell phone, and my palm pilot. They say that an MP3 player could hold your entire collection of CD’s that linger on your shelves. For some that may be your collection of Moody Blues, or Third Day, Rush, or dare I say Herb Albert and the Tijuana Brass.
Yet the very thing that connects and frees us, actually disconnects and burdens us. Substitute the word us for me, me for you, you for whomever you choose. While the technology has allowed us more time, it takes us away from the things that really matter the most.
When my computer was down, I actually had to pick up the phone. When my computer was down, I actually had to write some notes. When I forget my cell phone, I actually have to sit and pray.
Yet I also realize that if I didn’t have technology, I wouldn’t be able to connect like this with you. We are affected by this thing called technology in different ways, but I hope that in the end, we can always be mindful of what our purpose is, and how we use it for benefiting our relationships, rather than substituting them.
It’s amazing to me to think that a type-set copy of the Bible was technology a long time ago. It was the way that God was able to get his message into our hands, to connect with us, and to make himself known. Before that – people had to rely on something different.
So I guess there are benefits to the newest, the latest and greatest. I would however, hope that that will not supplant your personal relationship with God. There is nothing that will substitute for the personal relationship that comes with communicating with God. On those same lines, there is nothing that can really substitute for person to person relationships.
I invite you to come and have contact with a human being this week in worship. We’ll be using some technology from various periods in our history, but it won’t substitute for our personal relationships that we have with each other. We’ll have an opportunity to give thanks for so many things as we prepare for our Thanksgiving Holiday. I hope to see you in worship. Until then,
Please pray for me, and know that I am praying for you.
Greg
6 comments:
A great post, Greg.
Thanks for helping us to discern the difference between utilizing technology and allowing technology to utilize us.
Uh...excuse me, I'm sorry, I have to take this call...
I hang my head in shame as I admit to you all in blogger land, that the nephew Greg has spoken about is my son. He has had 5,322 texts in the month of October which means he texts all day, everyday. The pride swells within as I admit this truth, and ask for prayers in this regard!!!
I miss long telephone conversations with friends talking football, family and work. Now it is an e-mail with a link to some site about football rather than an actual conversation.
What I am saying is that we are losing the gift conversation, expression and personality God has given us in order to make things easier, shorter and more pithy.
Although we save time, what are we losing in the balance.
Barb...we're praying.
Greg, I really like this post. I was going to call and see if you wanted to have coffee so I could tell you that, but I thought, what the hey, I'll just leave a comment.
Great read, Greg. I too want to learn more as I am using technology in many new ways in worship. It seems though our youth group has known about my new techniques for a long time! The youth are learning at such amazing rates.
I remember being ahead of the game back in the day by using the intranet. What's intranet?
God's Grace brother,
Jeff
Excellent post, brother. Have you read Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death? The premise is that the medium is, too often, the message, and that can be dangerous. Thought provoking stuff, and, as you wrote so well, nothing takes the place of personal contacts.
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