The newspaper headline caught my eye–“U.S. turns to technology to help control impulses”—because it seemed pretty ironic to me. Technology never seems to help me control any impulses.
In fact, high-tech gadgets tend to stir up, not squash, all sorts of unpleasant impulses in me … like the impulse to pummel my malfunctioning laptop with a baseball bat or fling our babbling GPS device out the car window.
But, according to this newspaper article, many Americans now feel they don’t have the internal fortitude to behave themselves without the help of gadgetry.
One man cited in the article said he wasn’t getting any work done because he couldn’t stop surfing the internet all day, so he now depends upon a computer program to block his internet access during specified hours.
Other “nanny” computer applications cut off credit-card spending, bully folks into exercising, and prevent text messaging while a car is moving.
A “professional trend-watcher” said that “outsourcing self-control” is one of the new big things for 2011.
I have two questions about that: 1. Where does one apply to be a “professional trend watcher,”? (sounds like fun); and 2. Does anyone else think “outsourcing self-control” is a big, fat contradiction in terms?
Is this where we’re headed?…
“The wreck wasn’t, like, my fault, officer. My cell phone was supposed to, like, stop me from texting my BFF while I was driving.”
“I can’t help that I weigh 500 pounds, doctor. The smarthouse app that’s supposed to lock my fridge every night quit working.”
“Yes, sir, I know I didn’t meet that deadline, but I am struggling with Facebook addiction. See, I have a note from my shrink. It’s not my fault. He says you need to put something on my computer to help me.”
Something seems wrong about relying upon machines to serve as mother, cop and coach. And it’s not because I naturally possess the ascetic disposition of a Tibetan monk. Unh-uh. I fight temptation battles every day, and sometimes the chocolate chip cookies win.
But when I cave in, I know whose fault it is: mine. I did it. I chose. I could have resisted.
How do I know that? Check out 1 Corinthians 10:13: “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.”
There’s always enough light to see the right path and enough power available to help me choose it.
There is certainly such a thing as strictly human self-control. People grit their teeth and lose weight, quit smoking, and run marathons all the time. But biblical self-control goes beyond that. It’s listed as a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22), making it one of the traits that should be evident and growing in the life of anyone who has, through faith in Jesus Christ, become a Christian.
To put it in techno-speak: The Holy Spirit is the ultimate “app,” the presence and power of God downloaded into our spirits. We still have to choose to do what’s right, but our chooser has been turbocharged with godly wisdom, resolve and purpose.
Since I have about as much technical aptitude as those chimps they launched into space back in the ’60s, I’m really thankful I don’t have to rely upon a computer or IPhone to stay on the path of life.
All I need is just a prayer away.
“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. – 2 Timothy 1:7