The Struggle for Contentment
I think one of the reasons why it is so difficult for us to find true contentment in life has a lot to do with our rapid adoption of technology without considering how it is impacting us. I really do believe that technology has had a negative impact on our ability to live out the essence of what it means to be a Christian, to love God and our neighbor (Matthew 22:37-39). This requires selflessness. But technology focuses on exactly the opposite. Consider Apple’s obsession with naming their products. Most of them start with “I” something: iPhone, iPod, iLife, iEverything else. Much of technology is focused on “us”. And it speaks to the narcissism that is running amok in our culture. So over the next few weeks I will be focusing on a series of blogs and articles about the impact of technology on the lives of Christians. Don’t get me wrong. Technology in and of itself is not bad. Technology is not really the problem as much as the fact that we don’t know how to properly use it.
This is an area that I have been studying for the past year and it has resulted in my making some changes in my life with regard to how I use technology. So as an introduction, I would like to direct your attention to a series of podcasts that my friend John Dyer was invited to speak on about the impact of technology on our lives. I have provided direct links to these podcasts below. Enjoy and I can’t wait to start conversing with you on this very important topic. I will leave you with the following quote from Marva Dawn who wrote “Unfettered Hope” which is a book that takes a look at how technology has turned the focus of Christianity from the poor towards ourselves.
“Do we see how the advertising world bluffs us into thinking that more technology or more implementation of the wired worlds possibilities is the only solution to the world problems in economics and politics; to such church problems as the decline in worship attendance, the reduction of membership numbers, or the lack of interest in “church”; and to personal or family problems? . . .
Meanwhile, we ignore the real situation in the world. While one small part of the world eases its pain by producing and consuming more…commodities, the rest of the world suffers the opposite kind of hopelessness—when persons are not able to secure the nourishment necessary to live.”
Here are the links to the podcasts that will introduce you to this issue:
Robert
I love theology and the challenge of making deep teachings non-boring. Let's face it, most of the time we hear theological teaching, it really is boring. Does it really have to be that way? Nope.
