By now, I trust that you, our faithful blog readers, have heard of or may even have an “Alexa.”   “She” is this amazing entity that obeys your every voice command, including such menial tasks like adjusting the temperature of your home, setting your alarm clock, playing your favorite music, and ordering toilet paper from Amazon! What an advanced, yet strange world we live in! There is so much automation and self-service. Many industries that employ live bodies are going the way of the dinosaur. We are soon going to see the complete demise of the shopping mall. It is far more convenient to shop on-line. Plus, you are helping the environment by not driving, circling the parking lot endlessly to find a space, and dealing with retail workers who don’t know the products or have the desire to go the extra mile for you.

And we call this “progress.” I have seen most of the futuristic, dystopian films of our generation that eerily and accurately forecast the way our way of life is becoming.
It is good to know that human relationships and interactions will never go completely away. There is a sense in me that God will find a way to ensure that will never happen. So I will continue to eschew drive-through tellers (unless I’m in a hurry) and self-check-out registers in WalMart (which I barely tolerate shopping at). I pray that humanity, especially in modern, technological societies like America, will realize that we need each other; the human touch.

This is where church can have hope for its future. We simply must continue to work hard at connecting with young people, while they still have the innate desire to connect. I believe that the church can still offer and teach that. The Bible stories of human interaction, family and community will and still can apply. We have not essentially changed since Adam and Eve.   Sure, our lives are easier. We can be healed and restored thanks to modern surgeries. Hardly a day goes by when I don’t hear an amazing story of a new treatment, a new medicine, a new operation that our church members benefit from. There are still grave concerns for our future. We must prepare our children and youth to face it. We must focus on faith, spirituality, and purpose – the purposeful plan that God has for redeeming us. His ways are not the ways of the world, including even the miraculous technologies that “ooh” and awe us.

“Alexa” cannot give you more faith. Don’t allow your life to become de-personalized. Even in our darkest of depressions, God is always ready and open to love us unconditionally.

Pastor Art