Technology is great – when it works!
However I’m not sure about this new activity tracker.
I wear it on my wrist 24/7 and it’s supposed to measure how many steps I take and how many hours restful sleep I get.
Hmmmmmmm…
With my old one (the strap broke) it seemed to take ages to reach the 10,000 step daily goal. I used to have to do circuits of the house or run upstairs 10 times before bed to get the lights and good vibrations going. This one is chirping congratulations by lunchtime making me a tad suspicious. One day I rode the motorbike and hardly walked at all and apparently broke all stepping records! On the nights I play bodhran in a traditional music session it thinks I've done a marathon!
It just adds to the general modern mood of ‘fake news’. Like, who or what do we trust? How can we be sure we’re getting reliable information? Who’s to say something is right or wrong?
Biblical writers shared the conviction that above and beyond flawed human resources there is an independent Source Who sets the standard, and assesses how we all do!
'The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are attentive to their cry; but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to blot out their name from the earth.' (Psalm 34 v 15-16)
‘The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul…The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous.’ (Psalm 19 v 7and9)
Or again, ‘Oh how I love your law!...Your commandments are always with me and make me wiser than my enemies…Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.’ (Psalm 119 v 97,98 and 105)
Sounds like our Maker has had us tracked long before the computer firms!
So there is an accurate, independent measure for all of life, the law and commandments given by God. And a Judge, the Lord Himself!
But that's Old Testament, some say. Isn't God supposed to be a bit more 'user-friendly' in the New Testament?
Well, if Jesus is, as He claims, the Son of God then His comment on this would be relevant, right? He says, ‘Do not think I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them.’ (Matthew 5 v 17) Then He goes on to set the bar at the highest point of excellence, demanding purity of mind and heart!
Going by this measure the ‘Bible app’ concludes we have all missed our target, today and every day. ‘All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.’ (Romans 3 v 23)
I work part time in retail and sometimes when we sell one of the activity trackers I tell the customer, ‘This doesn’t make you fit, it just makes you want to get fit!’
God’s Word and Law by themselves don’t make us good people. But they show us with painfully reliable accuracy how ‘unfit’ for God’s team we are.
And they point us to the one person Who can help.
Thankfully Christ not only gave His life to deal with our past failures, He is willing by His Spirit to come alongside us as our Life Coach.
And Him we can trust!
However I’m not sure about this new activity tracker.
I wear it on my wrist 24/7 and it’s supposed to measure how many steps I take and how many hours restful sleep I get.
Hmmmmmmm…
With my old one (the strap broke) it seemed to take ages to reach the 10,000 step daily goal. I used to have to do circuits of the house or run upstairs 10 times before bed to get the lights and good vibrations going. This one is chirping congratulations by lunchtime making me a tad suspicious. One day I rode the motorbike and hardly walked at all and apparently broke all stepping records! On the nights I play bodhran in a traditional music session it thinks I've done a marathon!
It just adds to the general modern mood of ‘fake news’. Like, who or what do we trust? How can we be sure we’re getting reliable information? Who’s to say something is right or wrong?
Biblical writers shared the conviction that above and beyond flawed human resources there is an independent Source Who sets the standard, and assesses how we all do!
'The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are attentive to their cry; but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to blot out their name from the earth.' (Psalm 34 v 15-16)
‘The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul…The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous.’ (Psalm 19 v 7and9)
Or again, ‘Oh how I love your law!...Your commandments are always with me and make me wiser than my enemies…Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.’ (Psalm 119 v 97,98 and 105)
Sounds like our Maker has had us tracked long before the computer firms!
So there is an accurate, independent measure for all of life, the law and commandments given by God. And a Judge, the Lord Himself!
But that's Old Testament, some say. Isn't God supposed to be a bit more 'user-friendly' in the New Testament?
Well, if Jesus is, as He claims, the Son of God then His comment on this would be relevant, right? He says, ‘Do not think I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them.’ (Matthew 5 v 17) Then He goes on to set the bar at the highest point of excellence, demanding purity of mind and heart!
Going by this measure the ‘Bible app’ concludes we have all missed our target, today and every day. ‘All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.’ (Romans 3 v 23)
I work part time in retail and sometimes when we sell one of the activity trackers I tell the customer, ‘This doesn’t make you fit, it just makes you want to get fit!’
God’s Word and Law by themselves don’t make us good people. But they show us with painfully reliable accuracy how ‘unfit’ for God’s team we are.
And they point us to the one person Who can help.
Thankfully Christ not only gave His life to deal with our past failures, He is willing by His Spirit to come alongside us as our Life Coach.
And Him we can trust!
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