A shaky past
We Christians can be a particular bunch for sure. Oftentimes we do not respond well to change and tend to label anything new and different as of the devil. This is not just my opinion but there is recorded evidence of this.
When radio technology was invented do you know what our opinion was? We took the verse Ephesians 2:2 which states that the enemy is the prince of the power of the air to mean that radio was wicked.
Simply because the radio waves soared through the air. Sounds kinda crazy now right. Just think of all the peoples lives that have been changed from the good news of Jesus being broadcast through the air. Sometimes even in countries where that radio signal is the only words about Jesus people will hear.
So how do we as people who love Jesus and want to see peoples lives change discover how technology and God can work together? The answer lies in the example of the cross.
What we forget
There is one symbol that has become the face of Christianity. We where it around our necks adorned in precious metals, on t shirts with our church name , and even some have this symbol tattooed on their body.
That symbol being a cross like Jesus died on. We forget that the cross was an actual piece of technology meant to minister execution to those who deserved death.
It was a death machine at its core. A death on the cross was designed to be excruciating painful. It was built to the proportions that would force you while nailed to a piece of wood to pull your yourself up just to get a small breath.
We forget that this symbol we idolize as the calling card for the grace of God was originally seen as the answer to the question how can we kill someone in the most heinous way. But then God enters the picture and turns this death instrument into an instrument of life giving salvation.
But God.......
Is it not amazing that God literally not only redeemed humanity but He also redeemed the cross itself. How many people do you see walking around with an electric chair around their neck? not many and there is a reason for that.
It is at its core a bearer of bad news and of a scary death. But God chose to save the world through His only Son taking the technology of the cross and turning it into the avenue through which the wrath of God meant for us was satisified.
God could have let Jesus die a million other ways. I mean He is God and truly has the power to do as He pleases. But He chose this ugly and most repulsive piece of death tech to save the world.
Now the cross is a sign of hope , grace, and proof of Gods unending love for us. It is a victory cry of all Christians everywhere. And God alone can turn something as the cross into a victory cry of life.
So if God can redeem the technology of the cross we need to realize that we cannot write off all technology as unfit and wicked for the body of Christ. So how can we follow the pattern of Jesus on the cross to allow God to redeem the tech in our lives?
address fame fever
Technology in itself is not alive. It is programmed and controlled by people. And us as people are addicted to the allure of fame and mass acceptance of who we are. We want to be liked and sometimes that leads us to do crazy stuff just to get a like on social media.
The way that we redeem technology in our lives is to first adopt the motivation of Jesus. Jesus became a baby on earth born to a regular family and died a painful embarrassing death. But then miraculous rose from the dead.
He did not do any of this to become famous or for himself. He didn’t have to die on the cross because Jesus was perfect. We are the imperfect ones. Oftentimes we get the fame fever and try to fill that desire to be known deeply through social media technology.
Whether it is Facebook or even our digital assistant alexa. So you and I have to realize it is the person using the technology that determines where it falls on the moral end. So what is the solution to this?
The solution is that Jesus could be stripped of his earthly reputation at the cross because He was secure in the truth He was famous with the father. So you and I have to embrace this truth that we to are famous with the Father. For goodness sake we are so loved by the Father He sent His son to die for us.
So we can use technology for His glory when we are secure in the fact that we are already deeply known and famous in Gods eyes. We don’t need the validation of a thousand likes, shares, or feel good comments. And when we come to this end then we will do a much better job of making Jesus known. After we discover this truth is is vital we change the heart behind the hardware.
The Heart Behind the Hardware
So often we forget that technology is simply a combination of created materials in creation put together to produce a system that needs at some point a human operator. so what that technology is at its core creation. You really don’t hear us saying you need to watch out for circuit boards because they will cause you to be destroyed.
What has to be understood is that it is the heart behind the hardware that makes something postive or destructive. Just like how everyone at the cross that day meant it to be an instrument of death but it was because of the very heart of God that it was being used as an instrument of life.
In the same way it is not Facebook that makes us covetous of others nice things. That is due to the our own wayward heart behind our own Facebook account. You can’t write off the internet because our own wayward hearts use it for wicked purposes. And it is not our vehicles fault that we ran a red light. It is the person behind the wheel of the vehicle.
So you in the past few weeks you may have thought that the problem you had is a technology problem but in reality it is a heart problem. The only solution being that out of control Facebook rants, jealous Instagram sessions, and other issues are met with the good news of Jesus.
That good news being that we are fallen , Jesus is perfect and has stepped in our place on the cross for our salvation. And if we take that serious then Jesus will give us a new heart.
A new heart that will refuse to use technology for our own selfish purposes but instead to become a distributor of the hope that the world so desperately needs right now.
It starts at the first click
As we have seen God can redeem technology. But it does start with us. And the issue with us is that we oftentimes have hearts that are so prone to wander.
Hearts like the disciples that fell sound asleep in the garden in the last moments before Jesus would be taken away like a prisoner. So if we are to be a Christian in 2020 that leverages technology for the good of Christ a few things have to happen.
The first being that we have to at the first click on our computer, smartphones, or tablet with pure intentions. If we do not then we will most certainly drift into a gossip column on Facebook , a covetous personal pity party on Instagram, or a text message that we will regret so much after we hit send.
so if you and I go into the digital world completely aware of our identity as a son or daughter of the king then the kingdom through tech will become bigger. But if we forget who we are in Jesus at that first click then we may very well allow our joy to be stolen and someone elses opinion of our wonderful savior to be tainted.
Go in peace
so in conclusion hopefully you have realized as I have that realistically technology is no the problem so much as the heart behind the technology is the real issue. Is change hard? yes it is. But just because technology changes doesn’t mean it has to be automatically wicked.
And just because there are people who use social media or new technology for a wicked purpose doesn’t meant that God can’t use that technology to change peoples lives. so address that fame fever, the heart problem before the hardware issue, and the first click intentions.
And if you do this your impact for Jesus will be amazing while at the same time not allowing technology to steal your joy, hope, and peace.
Spot on with this write-up, I truly think this website needs much more consideration. I’ll probably be again to read much more, thanks for that info.