The cell phone must be one of the greatest inventions of all time. It helps me avoid getting lost on the way to a friend's house. It helps me call for help in case I need it. I can even text, thereby able to communicate well without having to search for words to say at the spur of the moment. it is one of those inventions that is hard to live without. Technology makes our lives easier and God does want us to harness the powers of nature for the benefit of humanity. He wants us to make advances that will help us live more comfortably.

    However, if we are not in touch with our hearts, technology can leave a damaging impact on our souls. In the movie "Click", the main character found a remote control that could stop moments in his life that is unpleasant (e.g. arguments with his wife). The result was that this man missed important things in life- his kids growing up, his father dying, being known, etc.  Could it be that in our desire to get things done faster and faster, that we are missing out on times of introspection when we can listen to our hearts and sort out what we are truly to do with the moments of our life? Could it be that in our desire for speed, we are missing out on developing wisdom for navigating through life, the same wisdom that will help the future generations navigate their lives, wisdom that is a product of experiencing life fully? 

     Talking about experiencing life fully. Dating on-line helps singles pick out mates that they match up well with. Personality tests could help us pick out careers that are a "good fit" for us. Most sinister of all, discoveries in genetics may enable us to weed out "undesirables", characteristics that does not conform to our image of perfection. Although using these technologies can help us avoid future suffering, aren't we trying to skip the process of soul-building? A perfectly matched couple won't have to deal with the pain of deep conflict, where the couple must struggle with loving each other in the midst of nagging differences. Although painful, the process of building a deep sense of faithfulness to our promises makes us more and more like God, who is faithful to his promises. Genetic engineering is sinister in that it gives sinful humans the ability to weed out what they think is "inferior". The soul does not have to develop that Godlike grace that caused Jesus to die for the "unacceptable".     

     We think that having revelations about ourself that will lead us to the perfect career will make us happy people. However, God shapes the person through life, opening and closing doors, leading him through the emotional ups and downs in all areas of life, including our vocations. We try to avoid disappointment and regret, instead of living by faith in God who will lead us through disappointements and regrets into the full life that he can provide.

     What we think of as technology is sometimes subtle. Our fascination for magic is related to our desire to avoid the pain of want, a desire that darkens our souls, making us bitter and covetous, using people for our own purposes instead of valuing them. The use of the power of words and the imagination to get what we desire, prevalent in the mind sciences and the word-faith movement, is a form of technology akin to magic. Leaning on it will lead to disappointment as it fails to deliver peace for our souls, just like the other technologies in our lives. Instead of trusting God as a father who cares for our needs and wants the full life for us, we want what we want. We stubbornly insist on our image of the full life, instead of learning contentment and walking humbly with God. In walking with Jesus, we find real peace.

     Technology helps us be in better control of our lives. God created us to build technology, but he did not want technology to damage our souls- making us disconnected, unfaithful, ungracious, discontented people. Enjoy technology but more importantly, watch your souls, that it is moving towards its goal of becoming more and more like God- engaged, faithful, gracious, compassionate. Christ came ultimately to save our souls because that is the most precious thing. He cleansed the soul marred with sin and made it glorious. He united himself to that damaged soul, putting it to death in his body, and raised that soul to a new life, as he rose from the dead. He leads that soul into becoming more and more the precious jewel it was meant to be.