I’m not one to go around quoting Tom Brokaw. I gave up watching network news years ago, though I have enjoyed Brian Williams’ sense of humor when he appears on shows like David Letterman.
In working on this weekend’s message, I came across a line from Brokaw that is worth passing on. In a 1999 graduation speech at the College of Santa Fe in New Mexico, he said, “It is not enough to wire the world if you short-circuit the soul. Technology without heart is not enough.”
Well said.
I’m afraid we’ve done a better job of wiring the world than feeding the soul. We have multiplied the computing power of the average cell phone at a faster rate than we’ve learned to appreciate spiritual realities.
In some ways, we have willingly short-circuited the soul in order to avoid wrestling with matters that transcend the here and now: Eternity. Evil. Being compassionate when it doesn’t return a profit. Love. Loss. Death.
Have we overloaded our gadgets to buffer our souls? I think so. We have tried to live the divine life as humanly as possible. It doesn’t work that way because God never intended it to be that way. Instead, God’s desire has been for us to learn how to divinely live the human life.
I’m all for conquering new horizons and the next generation of technology. I tend to be an early-adopter. But let’s not forget to bring our souls along for the ride.