Oh! The wonders of new technology. How did we ever live without it?

A PM interruption

The other day, as we were going to bed, Linda was making last-minute checks on her social media when a voice boomed out from downstairs.

Who could that be? We had switched everything off, including the TV and it was a bit too loud for it to be the neighbours. But it sounded very much like Boris Johnson! What had I done to warrant his personal attention in this way?

True, I had met several members of his family at Lord’s cricket ground some years ago – his dad Stanley even bought me a pint – but had I now upset him? In truth, I have praised him more than I have castigated him in print.

It was indeed Boris – but not in person. It was a recording of a briefing given earlier in the day about Covid, mysteriously set off by Linda fiddling with her phone, which somehow sparked a new-fangled contraption to life downstairs. Something to do with Blue Tooth. Don’t ask me to explain; I try to keep my teeth white. Anyway, we eventually laughed ourselves to sleep, happy and content with our strange new world.

Technophile doctor-dad

The capabilities of new technology seem endless, and admittedly valuable in many ways. But it can’t solve everything, a point driven home as we motored past Heathrow for the second time in a fortnight a number of weeks ago, and again spotted just one plane! The result, obviously, of the pandemic, though it doesn’t seem that long ago that a similar grounding occurred in the wake of Iceland’s volcanic eruption.

Not only did he install a record player in his 1959 Mercedes years before such luxuries were more generally introduced in cars, but he also fixed it up with a radio telephone, of the sort that only the police used at the tim

Actually, new technology wasn’t invented in the late 90s, as many seem to think. My doctor dad, though he struggled with mobile phones later in life, was very much a gadget man earlier in his career, way ahead of his time – thanks to which he saved my older brother’s life, and no doubt others too.

Not only did he install a record player in his 1959 Mercedes years before such luxuries were more generally introduced in cars, but he also fixed it up with a radio telephone, of the sort that only the police used at the time. This enabled him – thanks to a 60ft high miniature Eiffel Tower outside our house – to phone straight through to the surgery, or our home, from a great distance away, which came into its own when my brother Rob developed acute appendicitis and had to be rushed to hospital.

We were both at boarding school (60 miles from home) and, dispensing with the services of an ambulance, dad completed the 120-mile round trip at an average speed of 90mph, or so the story goes. After taking delivery of his 13-year-old patient and still some 50 miles away, he phoned through to the surgery from his dashboard receiver with instructions to have the operating theatre prepared for action. Rob’s appendix burst at some stage, but he was saved in the nick of time.

Famine of compassion & consideration

All of which is an object lesson for those who are charged with the Great Commission to preach the gospel. By all means use technology to save lives, so that all who hear your message and believe in Jesus will inherit eternal life (John 3:16), also echoing the words of the patriarch Joseph who said that, though his brothers meant to harm him, God used it for “the saving of many lives” (Gen 50:20) threatened by the famine.

There’s a famine of God’s word today, especially across social media. We are quick to condemn, but slow to encourage. In all our communication, we need to affirm life and build up relationships. Many have lost the art of communication despite the plethora of modern tools available – we’re quick to speak and slow to listen, which inevitably leads to a ‘train crash’ of misunderstanding as we talk over one another.

I came to Christ through a clear explanation of what it meant. I really needed to listen, and then follow simple instructions. As I continue to seek God’s guidance in my life nearly 50 years later, I simply echo the words of the young Samuel, saying: “Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.”

Keeping it simple and concise

God has given us a voice with which to communicate his message. Keep it simple, make it clear and be concise. I didn’t go to Bible College, but I’m reliably told that one of the most valuable lessons students are taught is to be able to share their testimony in the time it takes for the flame to die (or burn your finger) after striking a match. Don’t do it at home!

God has given us a voice with which to communicate his message. Keep it simple, make it clear and be concise.

I appreciate the cogent point made by the writer of a devotional who said he was challenged at the beginning of the first lockdown to produce a short testimony video about how he came to Christ because we should always be prepared to give an answer for the hope we have (1 Peter 3:15). It was “a training exercise in communication in a succinct, intelligible and engaging manner,” he wrote, adding: “It’s all too easy for Christians to use believers’ jargon which just won’t do if we are talking to those who don’t yet believe.”¹

And God will give you the clarity, boldness – and even the precise words at times – with which to speak up for him. For Jesus says: “On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time, you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you” (Matt 10:18-20).

1 One Way UK Creative Ministries Daily Devotional, 15th July 2021