The Age of Technology

By Andrea Merrell

I feel like I’ve become part of the space age. Maybe I should change my name to Jetson.

We have a new robot as part of our household, and her name is Rosie. She’s a round disk about the size of a large cake pan and she vacuums my floor with the touch of a button. She and I get along very well.

There are so many gadgets that make our life simpler. It’s hard to imagine how people used to function without all this modern technology.  We even have newly designed cars that can park without human assistance.

There was a time when no one owned a cell phone, laptop, or GPS. There was no iPad, iPod, or even a Kindle. Looking back further, people survived without electricity and indoor plumbing. Going back even further, think about the Israelites wandering around for forty years in the desert. There was no such thing as tissues, paper towels, or toilet paper. What did the women do without diapers, baby wipes, and all the necessary feminine products? There were no microwaves or drive-thru restaurants. No phones to order take-out.

It’s hard to imagine life that way, but it makes me wonder if our generation has become so soft we’ve forgotten what it means to work hard. The trend today is to “work smarter, not harder.” Great concept, but maybe we’ve taken it to an extreme. We’ve gotten so smart we never want to work hard at anything. We want our coffee in thirty seconds, a great meal in less than thirty minutes, and instant access to everything technology has to offer. And heaven forbid if we should ever have to wait in line—for anything.

Am I saying I want to go backward and get rid of all my modern conveniences? Absolutely not. I’ll keep utilizing Rosie and—like everyone else—keep looking for ways to simplify my life.

Maybe what I am saying is that we should appreciate all the things we have to make our life  better, yet not be afraid to dig our heels in, use a little elbow grease, and do some manual labor when it needs to be done. The Bible says a man has joy by the answers of his mouth. I also believe a man (or woman) feels intense pleasure and satisfaction with a job well done.

(Photo courtesy of Stockpic.)

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