Is modern technology in general a blessing or a curse? As the youngest (at that time) professor at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, I taught the first class ever in the use of electronic media to support Bible teaching. And today, God has blessed my organization, the Center for Church Renewal, with a radio and television production studio that contains some of the finest, most advanced electronic equipment available.
A friend of mine, Max Anders, describes the downside of modern technology well. In a book that he is ready to publish, he states that:
“. . . It may be generally more difficult to live the Christian life in the twenty-first century than at any other time in history. This is, in part, because of the pervasiveness and power of electronic communication. From music in elevators to television monitors in gas pumps to Smartphones, tablets, computers, electronic games, Smart watches, and televisions that often go on first thing in the morning and stay on until the last thing at night, our minds are awash in input from electronic media. . . .” This creates two serious problems. First, it gives the mind no downtime, no solitude, no time for reflection, planning, evaluating, thinking . . . . Second, the input that we receive is often godless.”
I agree with my friend, Max, but I’m also thankful that as Christians we can utilize this technology for God’s glory, which I have attempted to do in my Life Essentials Study Bible. The Bible includes 1,500 “Principles to Live By” embedded in the text. Every principle has its own QR code that provides readers access to more than 250 total hours of my video-teaching simply by scanning the codes with a Smartphone. I encourage you to get a copy of the Bible and try it for yourself. I think you’ll be amazed—as I am—as to how we can communicate God’s Word instantaneously all over the world. Even in impoverished countries people have Smartphones.