One recent morning, my husband and I were fixing breakfast and we realized we didn’t have any clean teaspoons – they were all loaded in the dishwasher waiting to be washed. I’m ashamed to admit that we were temporarily rendered helpless. Whatever would we do? Spear our Shredded Wheat with butter knives?
The sad truth is that neither my husband nor I thought of simply taking a couple of teaspoons from the dishwasher and washing them by hand, so we ate our breakfast with spoons nearly as big as garden trowels.
Later, it occurred to me that perhaps we are becoming a wee bit too dependent upon technology in the Crum household. Believe me, the dishwasher incident is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.
A few weeks ago, the UPS man rolled up and delivered to us a lady who lives in a little box and tells us where to go. There may be lots people who would love to tell me where to go, but the bossy broad who arrived at our house is what is known as a global positioning system (GPS).
We punch in some information about our destination and the lady in the magic box tells us how to get there. Sounds good, but it’s a bit creepy. After the GPS babe plots the best route for us, she gets quite irritated if we deviate from her plan, repeatedly demanding, “Recalculate …recalculate… recalculate.”
Her robot voice was so obnoxiously whiny that I made Joe reprogram the gizmo to change its accent. I lobbied for a male with a buttery Spanish lilt, like Fabio riding shotgun with us, but Joe argued that he’s used to hearing a woman tell him what to do, so no worries, mate–our GPS babe is now Australian.
We’ve named our GPS “friend” Cat Deely, after the personable Australian hostess of a popular T.V. show. Helps me overcome the creepy factor.
But I find I’m having a hard time trusting Cat when she tells us where to go, especially since she has already led my husband on a few wild goose chases. I really don’t mind using old-fashioned paper maps, even if they are boogers to fold up, but alas, the technology parade at our house only marches in one direction: onward, ever onward. Retreating is out of the question.
Don’t misunderstand–I have a deep appreciation for technology. I’m a big fan of air-conditioning, microwaves and other life-enhancing innovations. But there is also something to be said for knowing how to do things simply and without the help of software and microchips.
Sometimes I have to remind myself of that truth as it relates to my worship of God. There are many wonderful resources available to teach and encourage Christians in the United States—books, videos, websites, and more. And many churches have gone high-tech with state-of-the-art sound, projection and lighting systems.
It’s all great, but those things are merely nice accessories. The foundation of our faith still needs to be built upon simply reading and believing God’s Word and simply living in vital relationship with God, allowing Him to express His life and love through us.
If we’ve become dependent upon bells and whistles to rev up our faith, then Cat the GPS babe is right–it is indeed time to “recalculate.”
“But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.”—2 Corinthians 11:3