CLAIM:
Technology has created these problems. I don’t want to be hooked up to tubes and wires. When it’s my time to go, let me go.
REBUTTAL:
In the early 1980s, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. C. Everett Koop commented on the news that parents in Bloomington, IN, refused to permit their newborn son to have life-preserving surgery because he had Down Syndrome. Acknowledging how technology has rapidly changed medical treatment options, he provided this scenario:
A woman gives birth to twins prematurely. Both require modern technology to sustain their lives while they mature. One twin had a host of issues, including a cleft pallet, a deformed hand, and missing a portion of a foot. The other twin was healthy. The family praised the technology that preserves the life of their healthy child and cursed the technology that preserves the life of their child facing these challenges.
The point was clear. In our culture, some lives are desired more than others. In the judgment of some, those born with challenges may be better off dead. Even though technology is prominently positioned in this debate, it is not the main issue. Technology is the scapegoat.
Technology Mirrors Values
Technological progress begins with filling a need. The rise in capitalism and the desire for increased productivity sparked the technology of the Industrial Revolution (1760-1900). The desire for faster communication drove the development of the telegraph (1844), telephone (1914), radio (1920), television (1927), vehicle communication (1946), satellite communication (1962), the Internet (1974), and cellular network phones (1981).
Wanting faster travel brought us steam-powered ferry boats (1811), horse-drawn buses (1827), streetcars (1832), transcontinental railroads (1869), national highways (1911), and passenger planes (1914).
Once inventions are realized and appreciated, they often create more desires. Some will always resist technological advancement (commonly called Luddites), but most people embrace these advancements and eventually long for more.
As is life in a world of sin, what was a tremendous advancement for some became an instrument of evil for others. The advancements in communication spread the news but also spread rumors, lies, slander, and pornography. The technologies that permitted us to do more in better ways were sometimes redirected towards selfish gain, harming others, and proliferating evil.
The same is true with medicine. A desire to cure can quickly become a desire for selfish gain or leverage over others. Healing becomes enhancing. Pain management becomes escapism. Increasing mental clarity becomes superiority.
The problem is not the technology but the hearts of those who use and misuse it.
The “I Want” Mentality
Living day in and day out in our world creates the “I want” mentality. In our mad pursuit of worldly dreams, we measure things in terms of them helping or hindering our cause.
In opposition to this notion, we are told:
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:2)
The world is where we are but not who we are. As God’s children, we know the world is our mission field, not our instructor. In this place, we glorify God, reflect his love, and share his message of salvation. Every “I want” that falls from our lips is subordinate to the mantra, “Thy will be done.” Sometimes, the medical crisis gives us our “Gethsemane Moment,” where we wish for the cup to be passed (Matthew 26:39-42). We don’t want surgery. We don’t want tubes and wires. We don’t want a long recovery. We don’t want the fuss. But again, “I want” is subordinate to what He wants.
Technology gives us more options that, therefore, require more decisions. That is not always a bad thing.
“Good” Technology
In a world of over 8 billion people, we likely will have that many different opinions on what technology is good and what is not. We can, however, make some generalizations.
Good technology ensures clean water can be consumed. It permits us to stay warm when it is cold outside and cool when it is hot. It helps us to visit and communicate with friends and family, though separated by miles.
Think of technology’s role in a family crisis. It helps us learn about a daughter’s allergy to certain foods. It enables us to rush her to the hospital. It provides for the treatment so she could come home later that evening.
Good technology sounds the alarm when a fire starts in the house, triggers a siren when a tornado is nearby, and stops our cars before a collision occurs.
Good technology provides medicine to control blood pressure and cholesterol and fight disease. Good technology identifies cancer early enough to be treated and maybe cured.
Technology lights our streets. We use it to shelter, entertain, feed, and heal us.
When Christians leverage technology to glorify God, worship him, and show love to others, technology is a very good thing. It was good when Noah used the technology of his time to build the ark. It was good when the Israelites used contemporary technology to build and then rebuild the temple.
Judgment Call
Stewardship of resources and life is a collection of judgment calls. The facts are considered, and a decision is made. Ignoring the resources based merely on personal preference misses the bigger picture of why we exist in the first place.
Jesus reminded us of the right priorities:
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (Matthew 6:33)
For this reason, as our preferences and biases are formed throughout life, the primary influence is the will of God. With hearts set on Him and what He has called us to do, we make stewardship decisions, both those that require little or no technology and those that require a lot of technology.
There is a time when we say, “Enough.” We may see further use of any treatment (high technology or otherwise) as futile. I will address this in greater detail in the future. For now, however, my point is that technology is our servant, not our master. It is our tool to help us do the work assigned to us by God. Use it wisely both in your service to him and others and in the stewardship of your blessing of life.
0 Comments