Thought for Today
Ecclesiastes 1:10 Is there a thing of which it is said, "See, this is new"? It has already been, in the ages before us.
Isaiah 43:19 I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
Mark 4:18 And others are those sown among the thorns: these are the ones who hear the word, 19 but the cares of the world, and the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it yields nothing.
Luke 10:22 All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."
Presumably, Qoheleth, the Preacher of Ecclesiastes, never visited the App Store, never read an article about AI or any of the other ‘new things’ we are daily promised as the solution to all of life’s problems. Isaiah, on the other hand, at least seems to suggest that there are ‘new things.’
Today, I am feeling overwhelmed by all of the ‘new things’ in my life. I have adapted to being reliant on my computer. I still use a laptop and I refuse to abandon a screen large enough for me to see the words on that screen. As a modern Luddite, I don’t watch movies streaming on my smartphone; I don’t do my online banking on my smartphone. I don’t even talk on my smartphone while I am in a store shopping! Hard as it is for my grandchildren to accept, I primarily use my smartphone to make phone calls. To be honest, I do occasionally text Greta to see if she wants me to pick something up at the store while I am there.
We still have a landline. Even worse (?), we make most of our phone calls on our landline. How outdated is that? I am writing this rant on a 17” screen laptop computer which is more than 3 years old! How outdated is that? Even the app I use on my computer for Bible study is more than 20 years old and no longer supported. Thank goodness, my Bible, which is more than 20 years old is still supported. The ‘technology’ behind our Bible is not AI. That ‘technology’ is the exact opposite. There is nothing artificial about the intelligence supporting our faith. That ‘technology’ is the Creator of all Creation.
I am not a technophobe. I dearly love my computer, my smartphone, my (not-so-smart) television. I love all of the convenience of our modern, electronic age. I certainly do not want to return to the ‘good old days’ of my youth, the 1940s and 1950s. Although, I must admit to a preference for the clothing styles and music of that era. When I dance, I want to be able to hold Greta’s hand and waltz to music that doesn’t hurt my ears.
Today, I am feeling overwhelmed by all of the ‘new things’ in my life. I am worried that if I hear one more prediction about how AI will make everything better, I’ll scream. I am only partially joking when I warn Greta that soon we will hear that our toothpaste now is new and improved by the incorporation of AI.
The truth is that our modern, electronic age does offer greater creature comforts than did the times during which the Bible was written. I live in greater comfort than did my parents, just as they lived in greater comfort than did their parents, and so on, and so on, as far back as we wish to take it.
But, our salvation does not lie in things. It does not lie in creature comforts. It certainly does not lie in AI! Long ago, the apostle Paul wrote, “Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—” Grace not by AI, not through any app or any technology at all. Our salvation comes through our faith, “Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
Ultimately, our salvation is not and will not be found in the App Store. The record of our faith, the understandings of our ancestors-in-the-faith may be available on something found there. But, our salvation comes as a gift from the Creator of all Creation. As Christians, it comes to us through our faith in God’s Son, in Jesus the Christ.
Stay safe, have faith, trust God,
Pastor Ray