Thought for Today
Ecclesiastes 1:10 Is there a thing of which it is said, "See, this is new"? It has already been, in the ages before us.
Isaiah 43:19 I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
Matthew 5:17 "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.
James 2:8 You do well if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
I have a love/hate relationship with computers and modern electronics. Prior to my 50th birthday, the most advanced technology my generation had to deal with was the transistor. Admittedly, the transistor was the forerunner of today’s miniature devices and incredibly powerful computers. And, honestly, transistors themselves spawned as much frustration for my parents’ generation as solid-state electronics have for my generation. My father was never comfortable with a television remote, much less an electronic adding machine.
This morning, Greta and I spent more than an hour struggling with an apparent computer problem. I write ‘apparent,’ because ultimately it turned out to be what our company’s IT department designated a 10k problem (idiot on keyboard). A disappointingly large number of the computer ‘problems’ faced by my generation are of that ilk. It’s not entirely because we are unskilled with computers. It is more the fact that computers were not even on the horizon during our formative years.
The degree to which computers have come to dominate almost every aspect of our lives is amazing. Equally amazing is the acceleration in computer technology and miniaturization. The first computers of which I was aware required multi-storied buildings with powerful HVAC systems. As our country embarks on our new journey of once again sending astronauts to the moon, it is probably surprising to some to realize that the payload for the first moon landings included the weight of the slide rules carried by each astronaut. There were no smart phones, no tablets, no hand-held devices in 1969 when Apollo 11 sent Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to the lunar surface. Now cars and many kitchen devices include one or more computers.
It is a familiar trope that adults and especially older adults are resistant to change and continuously complaining about all the ‘new-fangled’ technology. Many scholars believe that the written Hebrew language was developed during King David’s reign over the United Kingdom. The supposition is that a written language was required to allow their version of the IRS to keep accurate tax records. This morning, I can easily imagine David’s Director of Revenue fussing and fuming over how unnecessary all those written scrolls were. The old method of scratching marks on rocks was faster, easier, and far simpler! The prophet of Ecclesiastes missed the point. Sometimes there really are new things under the sun!
As a Christian, I know that Genesis 1:1 initiated a new thing. Certainly the words above from Isaiah spoke to something new. Maybe we should recall the preceding verse, “43:18 Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old.” But, even there we must be cautious. “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” (George Santayana) We need to temper the ‘new-fangled’ things of the present with the wisdom of the past.
Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God, the Incarnate Creative Word of God was a new thing. Never before had God directly entered into God’s Creation as a human. But even Jesus pointed out that the Incarnation was not “to abolish the law or the prophets” but rather was to fulfill the promises of our Creator God. When asked the most important commandment, Jesus did not state something new; Jesus offered quotations from our Old Testament.
Our modern computer technology is very useful. I am writing this on a computer. I write my sermons on a computer. I have an outdated, no longer supported but very powerful computer program containing the Bible in almost every language. I can use that program to find almost anything in the Bible. I can also use my computer search engine to access information on almost any subject. But, long ago, James reminded us of what he calls the royal law, a part of Jesus’ answer to the question of what is of utmost importance, we are called to love each other.
Stay safe, accept the new but temper it with the wisdom of the old, trust God,
Pastor Ray