| | Would you agree we live in a techno-holicl age? Is it not true that the newest piece of technology is extremely desired by nearly everyone? Do we not judge goodness by how technologically advanced we are? At the school I taught at in Korea, our parents were not too bothered by the increased tuition due to the advancing technology of 'Smart Boards.' At the church I attended in Korea, we, me included, were all excited about getting a 'new' sound system and projector. We love our new easy more advanced ways of doing things. If I can get quicker, easier access to something then it is better. Have you ever been around most houses at Christmas time? So many gadgets and technological advancements.
While it is true that we invent, make, and buy these technological advancements, it is also true that they in turn make us. They make us less patient and less determined. We then begin to see things that are quick and less stressful as better. We no longer understand that there is more meaning in more time and that there is more pride in more determination. I know this because I am this way. I am a part of the microwave generation. I love the microwave. I want my hunger satisfied, now, not in 30 minutes and surely not in an hour.
Looking at salvation history, the process of God's love through the ages, God is not into microwaves. God took many many years to accomplish his will in his people. This was actually no fault of God but of man's will. Man's will is stubborn and thus slow. The same author of salvation history is the author of the Bible and the same men that were slow and stubborn are the same men, in nature, that read the Bible today. The Bible is not a microwave. It is not a book of magic spells that cures sickness and allows people to make money. It is not a book that extinguishes pain with a simple reading. The Bible is a profound book. The Bible is a book that is to be contemplated. A book that is to be pondered. A book that is to be read in context to its readers, its writers, and its purposes. The Bible is not a quick fix.
What happens when we view the Bible as a quick fix? Why is it that salvation history took so long? Because man is stubborn, prideful, and normally finds what he wants and not what is best for him. What happens when techno-holics approach the Bible? They get a quick fix and that quick fix was probably exactly what they were looking for, but not what the Bible, God, was wanting to give them. I have been reading several different Bible commentaries today. I have been reading them from several different denominations. It is amazing how theologians can make a Scripture say what they believe when it is so obvious that this was not what the Scriptures were saying. We find what we want in the Bible many times. When we add our techno-holic-ness to this, we end up finding a quick fix that is most likely heretical and not only that but quick fixes go away. We are like the fat man that eats snacks all day. They are quick fixes. We are like the person who cut their arm off but only takes pain medicine. We use the Bible as a quick fix not as a wholistic lifestyle.
J.R.R. Tolkien, the author of the Lord of the Rings, in an interview explained that the ring was a symbol for technology. Technology has much power but the power turns on you. I have heard many Christians confess that their ability to truly think on something is almost non-existent. Most Christians that I have met have very little desire to figure out what the Bibles means. Very few walk around pondering how two different portions of Scripture go together. We don't really want what is best, we want a technological quick fix, so that is what we turn the Bible into.
Lord,
Purge us from our poor understanding of your word,
Give us patience at whatever cost that may be,
Help us to move beyond the tendencies of our microwave generation,
Your Kingdom Come, Your Will be Done,
In Jesus Name,
Amen.
James S. Sturgill
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| | Posted 7/4/2009 1:39 AM - 3 Views - 0 eProps - 0 comments
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