I am part of an incredibly blessed generation that has been able to live both with and without the technology of today. I grew up without a cell phone. In fact, I didn’t get one until I was in college and working at the Post Office. Because of that blessed position in history, I truly find myself pondering what life would be like without this technology…and remembering that things were actually better without it in many, many ways.
A Failure To Deliver
It is terribly sad that science and technology, that has promised us so much joy and happiness, has failed so miserably. With every new iPhone release there is a promise of pure joy and bliss if you will only buy it. I am almost daily wondering what life would be like without a phone. And, in the end I keep the smartphone…though I’m often not sure why. And as entertaining as television can be I’m not sure many people would actually argue that their lives are better for it.
Science has borne us great triumphs in our lives. The advances in medicine that have come from a better understanding of our bodies and the world that surrounds us are simply astounding. The vaccines and medicines as well as surgical capabilities are mind-boggling. Yet, over and over we see studies showing that people are more fearful and unhappy…even with all this going for them.
The problem is that neither Science nor Technology is able to deliver what we think it will deliver.
But it doesn’t stop us from wanting the newer and discarding the older. It is well known that our country chases the best and the brightest new technology at every turn. It
David Wells points this out remarkably well.
“The brave excursion into the future on which we are now embarked, unhitched from the past and stripped of many of the values that were once considered indispensable to the proper functioning of civilization and democracy, has until relatively recently been proceeding under the banner of progress. It is the conceit of modernity that the past is nothing more than a dead weight, that constant innovation is the only key to a better life and richer truth. We have, in other words, extrapolated from our experience in the areas of science and technology and concluded that what was judged true and wise yesterday must now be passe’, that anything on the cutting edge must necessarily be superior. And we persist in this delusion despite the fact that the lives of us moderns, with our historically unprecedented wealth of knowledge, are everywhere characterized by emptiness, superficiality, banality, and destructiveness, whereas the lives of those who lived in previous ages and knew so much less than we do today were often comparatively more human, more serious, and more profound.” – David F. Wells, God In The Wasteland, pp. 146-147, 1994
A Reminder While On Vacation
I was reminded of this quite keenly one day as I was visiting a local Presbyterian Church (PCA in case you were wondering) in the area while on vacation. The organ played a blended service…a blend of psalms and hymns. So the newest songs that we sang was probably the very oldest songs in the Baptist Hymnal and Celebration Hymnal in most churches I’ve been in. We recited the creeds and the Lord’s Prayer together.
As a person who has only been a member of Southern Baptist Churches, this was quite peculiar. But, I found it to be such a blessing. I left thinking that I could make no argument for why modern songs, guitars, drums, and other instruments were superior to what had been done long ago. (As a side note, most SBC churches do not have the rich hymnody of denominations like the Presbyterian Churches, so newer music actually makes more sense and is more beneficial there…in my opinion. And it is only an opinion.)
This transformed the way my family did things. We now recite the Apostle’s Creed in the morning, recite the Lord’s Prayer together and read and discuss a passage of Scripture together and our Catechism. Previously we had read Scripture and done the Catechism only, but this changed overnight. We saw the incredible value of the way things had been done in the past and brought it to our home. And it has been wonderful.
I’m not arguing for singing exclusively hymns or psalms in church services, but I am stating that newer is not always better. In fact, sometimes the old ways are better. And we found these old things to be incredibly beneficial.
We are carried away by bigger, brighter, and newer. Maybe it’s time for us to stop reaching for those things and understand that the satisfaction promised in those things will not actually be delivered.
A Short Word In Closing
I remember my life before I had a cell phone, a computer, the internet. It was simpler, slower, and less stressful. Someday I may throw my tech in a river never to have it again. But for now I’ll keep it and know that it helps me in some ways. It enriches my life in some ways. It also has the ability to be damaging and not necessarily better than not having it.
Sometimes the old ways aren’t so bad after all.
R. Dwain Minor
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