Looking at Decades to Come (Part Two)

          We look to the future sometimes with amazement and sometimes with fear. As I said in part one, what matters most is realizing that God is in control (Psalm 33:10-11) and He is working all things out for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28).
         Technology is itself a source of wonder and fear. In the 1900s it eradicated Polio and gave us the Atomic Bomb. The earliest scientists, all Christians, saw science and technology as a means to perfect God’s command to “subdue” the earth (Genesis 1:28). Many modern scientists see it as a way to substitute ourselves for God. Science is neither evil nor good. People are. What matters is what we do with science and why.
         Technology (applied science) has helped Christians reach the lost through missionary doctors, mass media, quick response to disaster relief and more. Did you know that, for most of Christian history, individual Christians didn’t have Bibles? You and I have our own personal Bibles today thanks to the invention of the Printing Press. Christians ought to be aware of what technology is coming in order to think about how to avoid its pitfalls and make use of its benefits.
          We’re already seeing computers get smaller and more mobile. I-pads or similarly designed computers will have to come down in price, have long battery lives, weigh less, have wireless network access anywhere, allow for keyboarding while still being compact, and perhaps eventually replace the need for keyboards altogether, but they will become the industry standard.
         Television will see less censorship in the decade to come—the main networks will contain more sex, nudity, bad language and graphic violence. That’s my guess. I hope I’m wrong. On the positive side, however, television and movies will continue to be more open to religion than they were in the last half of the 20th century. That’s a good thing, even if the religious content is watered down, politically correct, mystically New Age and in various other ways un-Christian. Why good? Because a neo-pagan culture is much more open to the truths of Christianity and to talking about religion than the secular, materialist, humanist culture we have been a part for decades.
         It is my prayer that we treat veterans returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with respect, always acknowledging their heroism, and looking to see how their experiences and commitment will continue to benefit America as they transition into civilian life. One immediate result in technology which may turn tragedy into blessing involves progress with prosthetic devices. Artificial limbs are no real replacement for arms and legs lost in battle, but vets returning from the wars with these permanent disabilities have given engineers a reason to increase their pace in improving artificial arms and legs. Today there are people who can walk, run, play sports or work physically demanding jobs who never would have been able to do so ten or twenty years ago. Within the decade, veterans and civilians will benefit from artificial arms and hands which they will be able to move by thought.
         In the last two years I’ve gotten back in touch with friends I haven’t seen or heard from in years. This is all thanks to Facebook. I don’t know what the total implications of social networking by computer will be, but I have already seen an example of profound Christian benefit. My wife, Becky, has a heart for Haiti. She’s been their twice on mission trips and continues to stay in contact with many people there or many in the States involved in Haitian ministry. When the earthquake hit Haiti earlier this year, Becky was able to minister to friends around the country and students at our University who did not know if their families and mission partners were well or even alive. When cell phones no longer worked, the internet, for whatever reason, still did. As Becky explains, the resulting help was real:
         I don’t call a thousand people a day, but I can send a message through Facebook and all will see it. People like me with physical limitations can help those who actually go to help after hurricanes, earthquakes and tsunamis. I was able to use Facebook to connect people and organizations together immediately after the earthquake. They could then find out what airstrips were open, who had medicine and food, who was coming to help, and where friends and families could be found. What I wanted most was to be physically there, but since I couldn’t, I was able to help with Facebook and prayer.
What we choose to do with technology, old or new, can make a real difference.