Everyone knows by personal experience and observation how many and how massive are the problems resulting from the digital revolution. And the vast majority of Christians are concerned enough to want to do something about it. But what can we do?
God Is Powerful
Sometimes we can feel like giving up the battle against the dangers of technology. We look at the forces ranged against us and our children and ask, “What’s the point when I am against so much?”
You’re right; the forces are too many and too mighty. However, greater is He who is with us than he who is with them. With God, all things are possible, and He loves to demonstrate His possibility—especially in our impossibility. His power is made especially manifest in our weakness. When we feel and confess our helplessness, that’s when He moves in with His almighty power. He can keep us and our children safe. He is able and mighty to save. He can also give us and all our children the Holy Spirit to resist temptation and to do what is right and good. His Spirit is far more influential than the spirit of the age.
God Is Wise
Sometimes we might be tempted to think God did not foresee this massive moral and spiritual challenge, that He did not anticipate it, and, therefore, He has provided nothing in His Word to help us. After all, the Bible was written thousands of years ago. What can the papyrus age say to the digital age? Thankfully, God did foresee, He did anticipate, and He has put sufficient truth in the Bible to guide us through this mine field. Many New Testament verses on Christian ethics can be applied to technology, but I’ve found the book of Proverbs especially helpful as a source of divine wisdom for the digital age. Why not read through it while asking God for light on how to apply these ancient wisdom principles to modern times? God is wiser than the wisest tech moguls and has anticipated every development in technology until the end of time. We will never reach a day when we say,
“Well, the Bible has run out of truth.”
I’ve only scratched the surface, but I hope you’re convinced that the ultimate answer to digital technology is digital theology.
Dr. David Murray is professor of Old Testament and practical theology at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary, pastor of Grand Rapids Free Reformed Church, and author of Christians get Depressed too. First published in Tabletalk Magazine 01 October 2016, an outreach of Ligonier.
https://www.ligonier.org. © Tabletalk magazine. Used with permission