Information
Exchange
Do you remember being told that one day all our information exchanges would be electronic,
printers would become redundant, stationers would go out of business and entire rainforests would be saved? That day has not
yet come!
Now we are being told that we will have
a format-less world with no need for CD's, DVD's and all such shiny discs of plastic. I doubt it! Vinyl was going
to be extinct but most music stores still have healthy stocks of vinyl records. And although DVD sales slumped by 10% in 2009,
sales of blu-ray discs (what are they??) increased by 167% in the same period.
With science moving so fast we can easily get caught up in taking on new generation technology without considering
the implications. Do we want a format-less world? Surely less plastic must be a good thing? And do we really need the latest
version of the mobile phone when our current one has served us faithfully for at least six months?
It is not quite as simple as asking, "Do I NEED this or do
I just WANT it?" Our consumer culture makes it difficult for us to find the right balance; to find the
middle path.
Does the Bible offer any help, even though
it was written a long time ago? How about these words from Proverbs 30:8: "... give me neither poverty nor riches, but
give me only my daily bread." We do need to reach a state of mind where we can find contentment in material resources.
It will not be easy, but as disciples of Jesus Christ it is something we all need to grapple with.
Now where did I put my I-pod?
