When I was in high school, I took my Bible to class. Not only did it serve as a witness to my classmates, but I was able to read and study during downtime (which was very frequent during senior year at a public school). Carrying my Bible around really meant something to me; no one forced me to do so, and the inconvenience of the heavy MacArthur Study Bible was outweighed by the joy of having God's Word with me.
Nowadays, I still carry the joy of God's word with me at all times, but I'm much more efficient and tech-savvy. Instead of the bulky leatherbound, I've got the iPad, and I even purchased the ESV Study Bible App for deep study on the go. If I'm to be honest, I read the Bible more often from pixels than I do from pages. Heck, I make our pastor email me his sermon notes beforehand, so I can view those in 1024x768 too. Honestly, I enjoy it. Bible apps are easy to navigate, my underlining is always precise, my bindings don't get worn out, and I no longer carry 472 half-sheet sermon handouts, tucked in the pages of my Bible.
I'm reading a great book on theology and technology, and it's really causing me to question how technology influences my worldview, and most importantly, my view of God. And I'm not going to sit here and say that using Bible apps is wrong, or that it's more holy to read from a page than a screen. But you know the thing about Bible Apps? Your Bible App is one of many apps on your device. You've got apps on productivity, money, sports, bird-flinging, and navigating. And I wonder, does that setup ever influence the way I view Christ himself? Do I view my life as a device, with several functions and components, and do I view Jesus as only one of those components? Jesus isn't one element of my life; he is my life, and he himself dictates how everything else should be used.
I'm not on a soapbox here, decrying modern uses of technology. I actually think techie stuff can be used for great Kingdom good (printing press, anyone?). But I want to make sure that, amidst the glitz and glamour of the latest slick device, we don't view Jesus as just another app, widget, or update to our life. No, my friend, Christ is your life.
WOW! that's incredible! great point, my friend.
ReplyDeleteJust got a new phone that synces all the blogs I follow, which is three and one is Sam's, and I'm glad I read your post. It has been awhile since I embraced the tension, adding my bible app now.
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