Does Technology Impact Our Ability To Think And Contemplate Deeply?

This might seem like an anti-technology/anti-internet rant. It is not. I like technology and I like the internet. I recognize the internet as a communication tool and because of that I understand it to be fairly neutral. Like all communication tools it can be utilized in good ways or bad ways.

However, one of the downsides of the internet is that we tend to receive information on the internet in ways that are very superficial. Frankly, this is intentional. In order to get and keep people’s attention online most of the savvy and successful information purveyors realize they have to present the data in chunks that are quick, catchy and entertaining. (I was concerned this post may be too lengthy for a blog post. Ironic, huh?)

This shallow approach to the presentation of info is not bad except more and more of us are getting large amounts of our information—perhaps all of our information—online these days. As this happens there are smart, observant thinkers who are concerned this may negatively impact our willingness and our capacity to think and engage in deep ways, intellectually.

Nicholas Carr is a respected writer on technology and its impact on our lives. He wrote this about his own experience: “What the Net seems to be doing is chipping away at my capacity for concentration and contemplation. Whether I’m online or not, my mind now expects to take in information the way the Net distributes it: in a swiftly moving stream of particles. Once I was a scuba diver in the sea of words. Now I zip along the surface like a guy on a Jet Ski.”

Again, this is not an anti-internet rant, however, it is a word of caution to followers of Christ. Followers of Jesus are called to contemplate the important issues of life, including God and our relationship with Him. We are called to think deeply.

Jesus addressed these matters when He told us to love God with our minds. (See Luke 10:27)

I am not trying to run anyone else’s life, however, I am humbly suggesting that those of us who are serious about being people of substance (loving God with our minds) may want to make sure we unplug, pick up an actual book from time to time, and continue to set aside time for pondering thoughtful questions and contemplating the important issues of life.

The Pastor In Florida And The Law Of Love

Several people have asked my opinion about the pastor in Florida who had planned to burn copies of the Koran.  [It appears at this time, that, fortunately, he no longer intends to do this.]  It seems to me that this story presents us with an opportunity to understand something important: Followers of Jesus are called to higher standard.  Let me explain.

The man who threatened to have a Koran burning event has a legal right, based upon the laws of our land, to express himself in this way.  But, followers of Christ, have an obligation to a higher moral standard than the laws of our land.  Again, I would suggest to you that this is a very important point and it seems to be a truth about which there may be some confusion. 

God calls His people to a HIGHER STANDARD than the laws of our land.

We have an obligation to God’s law of love.  We have the high calling to love the way that Jesus loved.  Jesus identified the most important commandment, and laid down the law of love, like this:  " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" Luke 10:27

Christians need to consider the truth that something may be permissible from a legal standpoint, and yet, that does not ensure it expresses God’s law of love.

In the context of referring to the religious dietary laws of his time, the Apostle Paul wrote this, "‘Everything is permissible’—but not everything is beneficial. ‘Everything is permissible’—but not everything is constructive.” 1Cor.10:23. 

In other words, just because something is “permitted” legally, does not mean that it’s a good, helpful, compassionate, or constructive thing to do.

For example, a believer may have the legal right to bring a lawsuit against another believer.  And perhaps it would even be a slam dunk case, from a legal perspective.  But that legal right, may not reflect God’s higher law, the law of love.  In that case, the follower of Christ would honor God by waiving the legal right and submitting to the law of love.

Part of the larger context of Paul’s writing in the 1Corinthians10 passage had to do with freedom.  There is a freedom which belongs to followers of Christ and some folks in the early churches did not fully understand this freedom.  This freedom is, obviously, a wonderful thing.  We all like “freedom”, right?  But Paul was cautioning his readers to consider wisdom, and sensitivity to others, and a concern for the welfare of others in the exercise of freedom.

Just because a person is “free” to do something does not automatically mean it is a wise or compassionate action to take.

I’ve heard news commentators express the thought that the pastor in Florida has the legal right to burn copies of the Koran, but it is still not a good thing to do.  As a Christian, my response is similar but with an emphasis on the love of Christ.  Yes, he has a legal right, but is this the best way to express the truth of Christ and the love of Christ to a watching world?

I think honest followers of Jesus would say, “no”.

Referring to love—the kind of love to which God calls us—we find this phrase, in the Bible, “And now I will show you the most excellent way.” 1Cor.12:31.

As followers of Christ, with the help of God’s Holy Spirit, let’s always try to follow “the most excellent way.”