I am always on the lookout for the latest gadget representing the bleeding edge of human technology. The one that will max out the credit cards, crash the bank accounts, and declare war upon the spouse.
My life used to be about the next big upgrade. That was before I met Christ.
Today, I am still a sucker for technology. I still look at the latest gadgets and gizmos. I’m still tempted by the never ending barrage of upgrade options that the world’s leading manufacturers produce.
But to live out my life for these things? My Lord says that’s idolatry. That’s breaking the first and second of the Ten Commandments, constituting the highest and gravest of spiritual offenses. An “abomination that causes desecration.”
It is a struggle to fight off the temptation to buy into the latest technology. It is a struggle I face everyday, what with the proliferation of advertising on every conceivable form of media available.
The rate and intensity of the advertising increases in direct proportion to the rate in which manufacturers churn out these gadgets. Which means that the struggle won’t become any easier.
It is a battle for life. A Battle Worth Fighting.
Before I knew Christ, I once kidded to my friends that for me, Tech is porn. I still think that’s true.
Technology has become a fetish. For some, life is just not worth living without them. I know this because I used to be one of them.
Recently, I’ve been affected once again by the upgrade bug.
We lost our Sony Handycam in an event at the SMX Convention Center about two weekends ago. It was stolen within moments of our arrival, after we left it unattended together with our Sony Cybershot camera for a scant few minutes. The thief left the Cybershot, obviously preferring the larger (and more expensive) Handycam.
The theft was a sore blow. It had been our first Handycam: one that my wife and I brought together. It recorded a lot of our family’s memories. Essential memories. Videos of our baby daughter. Videos of our life during my first diplomatic assignment in Vientiane, Laos. Videos of friends and events that we will most probably never see or experience again in this lifetime. Although we thankfully have those videos on a backup external hard drive, it still feels like we lost a dear member of our family.
It took many prayers and many sleepless nights before I could get over the loss.
That and the prospect of an upgrade.
For the past week, I’ve been eyeing the latest Sony Alpha series of Single Lens-Translucent (SLT) Cameras, representing the current pinnacle of technology from that company (of which I have an obvious bias).
One specific model caught my attention: the Sony Alpha SLT-77, a semi-pro/enthusiast level camera that can shoot both still pictures and video in the highest resolutions currently possible. It is a gadget worthy of any geek’s fantasy.
I also thought the model number fortuitous. Seven after all, is God’s number.
The more I looked at the camera’s features, the more I got obsessed with it. I began calculating in my mind how much I needed in order to purchase it.
The obsession initially began as an infatuation. I had browsed the internet to check for pricing and availability and found out that it had yet to be released. Last week, I had asked a local Sony store about it, expecting them not to have any news on its release (the Philippines is not exactly a regular recipient of leading edge technology, especially those not targeted for the mass consumer).
To my surprise, not only did they tell me that it was due for release in the Philippines later this year, they were also expecting to sell it at a price that was essentially the same online (electronics in the Philippines tend to be priced significantly higher than elsewhere).
That information pushed me to the edge of sin. I committed in my heart that I would buy the camera without my wife knowing about it. I would use my credit card to pay for it. Never mind that it would take twelve months and a significant portion of my salary to pay for it.
I wanted the camera. I needed the camera. More than anything. It became the focus of my life: the reason for my happiness. My raison d’etre: the reason for my existence.
My old self had come back full force.
And boy was it ugly.
My obsession distracted me from the things that should matter. My family. My work. My relationship with my wife. My relationship with my daughter. My relationship with God.
My wife saw my obsession and responded as any wife should if she had caught her husband in adultery: she fought for my attention.
And I reacted as any husband caught in an adulterous relationship: first in angry denial, and then in vehement resistance.
I could not believe the words that had come out of my mouth that night. It felt like somebody else spoke those words for me. I saw my wife’s tears as those words stung and cut her.
Its just a friggin’ camera! I screamed to myself.
But deep inside, something told me it had become something more than that. It had become something unholy. Something that is placed where it shouldn’t be, and thus intensely destructive.
An abomination that causes desecration.
The enemy took my obsession with the camera and turned it into a weapon of sin. A weapon meant to distract me from the things I should be concerned about in my life. A weapon meant to hurt the ones that I loved.
I realized later that it was not only my wife who I hurt and made cry during those agonizing moments of confrontation. God cried too. The bloodied face of my Redeemer stared at me as He hung silently on the Cross at Calvary.
All for a piece of worldly technology. Something that will not last. Something that will certainly and inevitably lose its value later on as the next big and latest gadget comes by.
Its not worth it. Not worth the price of eternity.
It was then that I resolved that I would surrender my obsession to God.
I would only get the camera together with my wife, and more importantly, together with my God.
No longer will I buy things behind their backs.
I would earn the money I would use to pay for it.
So I began selling off some of the old gadgets that I had. Not only that, whatever proceeds I got from those sales, I immediately tithed for God. The rest, I kept, but not without my wife knowing exactly how much I had.
No more secrets.
I will set my relationships right once more.
And do you know what happened next?
In response to my obedience, God showed me the most wonderful revelation.
He showed me His version of the perfect gadget.
That gadget is me.
A human being. Formed and fashioned in the heavenly realms. Hand-crafted by God Himself, and powered by His own Divine Spirit.
What does your camera say to that? His words echoed through my mind, heart and spirit.
Tears streamed from my face as the realization of it hit me full force. It was too wonderful for words.
And the best part of it is this:
God is not even finished with me yet!
He is constantly upgrading. Constantly transforming. Constantly changing me from the inside out so that I would reflect the original and perfect design He has for me in His head.
He is doing it, not just to me, but to every human being who comes to Him.
And when His final version rolls out…
I finish this entry with the words from the first epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Corinthians:
However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"—
(1 Corinthians 2:9 NIV)
I suspect that even now, somebody in Heaven has yet to tap Steve Jobs on the shoulder and kindly tell him that his jaw is still open.
That I suppose, is the best compliment a geek could ever have for his Maker.
May God’s mercy and blessings be upon you all.
Soli Deo Gloria!
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