What Technology Can Never Do

Doomsday prophets and sci-fi writers predict the end of the world as we know it. They give us a vision of an age in which the complex web of technology and expertise that keeps our society moving along unravels in a heap. It all seems kind of unlikely.

Since the wheel was invented around 3500BC technology has been marching forward around the world. It moves faster in some places at some times and slower in others. The progression is undeniable. Irrigation, the smelting of iron, paved roads, gunpowder, the printing press, steam power, electric lighting, internal combustion, the radio, the airplane, nuclear fission, antibiotics, computers, the internet, Viagra, Facebook, Snapchat... it just keeps on going.

The rate of new technology is advancing faster than ever, but the rate at which it betters our lives, the human value of new technologies is slowing down. Some would argue that every new technology unleashes new burdens on us that outweigh the good. Even the internet, the most important advancement of the last 50 years has proved a mixed blessing. It connects us to information. It makes communication faster, cheaper, and easier. It opens up a virtual worldwide free market online. But it also brings us human trafficking, pornography, online gambling, and a tendency to substitute genuine relationships with real people in real places for a virtual presence that is anything but genuine.


There is a lot that technology can't do.
It can't bridge the gap between rich and poor. It can't create a brotherhood of men. Technology can't make us love each other. It does not rescue slaves or feed the homeless. It can not keep marriages from falling apart.

It seems that the best new technology is primarily directed at bringing the rich more entertainment options. We have ever faster and more accessible machines on which to play World of Warcraft and look at porn.

I dream of a day when the advances of the human race are no longer measured in inventions and new products to buy. That is not to say there is nothing left to invent. But it is time we focused less on creating new gadgets and more on using these things to do good. Or to put it another way, our collective creative energy could better be used finding new ways to love and serve humanity than in building a better mousetrap.

Perhaps the next age will be the age of humanity. The age when we break down the barriers that divide races and nations and families. Perhaps it will be the age in which we eliminate starvation and easily preventable diseases (since we already have all the technology we need to do so). Hopefully the next age will be one in which the poor are lifted up and class struggle becomes obsolete. Maybe in the next age we will focus on relationships with real people, getting to know them, learning to love them.

As we look ahead, we should not eagerly anticipate the new technology that will make our lives easier. Our lives are easy enough. We should anticipate a new world where we use what we have been given to serve others. We should anticipate sacrifice and giving up ourselves for others as Christ gave up himself for us. Love and sacrifice are not as sexy as the latest iPhone. But as I move toward Jesus, I long for the advance of this love as I long for the Kingdom to come.

It's a Wonderful World (Feb 14, 2014)

3 Good Things That Happened This Week Around the World

I am continuing my quest to highlight the good happen in the world. That is not to say I think the world is all good. In fact there are some really troubling things happening around the world this week. I don't look at the world with rose colored glasses.

But we don't hear enough about the good things happening in the world. And there is good. Because God is good and God is active in the world. And in spite of all the bad, it really is a wonderful world. Take a moment to enjoy the wonder.

1. Korean Family Reunions. North and South Korea have agreed to hold off their bitter disputes to allow families separated by the Korean war of sixty years ago to reunite next week. There was also talk of ending the incessant cross border name calling and insults. I think it's too early to call it a step toward peace or unification, but people working together, uniting families and speaking with civility to one another is always a good thing.

2. Israeli Doctors Treat Syrians. Israel and Syria have been in a virtual state of war for decades. The border is highly fortified and hostilities are not uncommon. But during this time of civil war in Syria, Israel has quietly accepted over 700 patients from Syria to receive medical care at medical centers and a field hospital near the border. There are a lot of negative things that can and have been said about Israel, but you have to give them some credit. Love your enemies. It is even possible in the volatile Middle East.

3. The Sun Now Powers 140,000 homes in Nevada.  The largest solar energy generator in the world went online yesterday. It uses thousands of mirrors to focus a beam of sunlight which heats water to generate power. It is just a drop in the bucket compared to the number of homes powered by fossil fuels in the U.S., but it is a great stride forward in sustainable living. Regardless of what you think about the environment and climate change, we know we are not living in a way that can be sustained. We are using more than our share of the earth's resources. They will not last forever. But there is hope we can learn to live in a more sustainable way in the future.

If You Didn't Like the Commercial You Won't Like the Song Either

I was enjoying a bowl of warm chili and the fellowship of friends watching the Seattle Seahawks ravage the defenseless Denver Broncos last night. Having thoroughly enjoyed seeing Stephen Colbert's head splitting open in a pistachio ad, we eagerly anticipated the next commercial breaking the monotony of the game. Suddenly our TV was filled with an image of a beautiful southwestern landscape and a familiar tune graced our ears. We continued to watch as several singers serenaded us to "America the Beautiful" in various languages including: Spanish, Hebrew, and Keres Pueblo, while people of various cultural backgrounds drank coke.

When it was all over, I thought, What a beautiful commercial! I am not particularly patriotic, but I am reminded again why America is indeed beautiful. Not just for her mountains majesty, but for the beautiful people who have come from every corner of the earth to unite as one nation. People who have escaped poverty, tyranny, and oppression to seek opportunity, prosperity, and freedom. It reminded me of another poem I've heard: 

Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!*

With all the bad things we can say about our country these days (and there are plenty to choose from) the melting pot of immigrants and the hope they bring with them is one of the things we still get right in America.

I can't say I am surprised at the backlash. My wife and I predicted it within seconds of the end of the song. There will always be those who will look back to the glory days of the past and say this is what America is supposed to be. Soon after the commercial aired, Twitter flooded with statements like "Characters in these Cola commercials, from Mexicans to Indians, learn to #SpeakAmerican already!” and "Nice to see that coke likes to sing an AMERICAN song in the terrorist's language." (What language do terrorists speak anyway? Pueblo?) I can only hope the people who made these comments don't realize how much they offend Americans who recently immigrated here, Native Americans, Jewish Americans, and many others.

If this is your take on America, so be it, but don't deceive yourself  into thinking you have any claim to the song "America the Beautiful" If the commercial was so offensive to you, then you probably won't like the song much either.

O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!**

We are fighting over a song that idealizes brotherhood, the idea that we are all equals, that we all have something in common that connects us to one another, that draws us to love one another. For the follower of Jesus, we already have a mandate to love our neighbor as our self. But for the rest of the populace, this song proclaims that as Americans we love each other as brothers, or at least that is the ideal we strive for. So if we are going to say things in order to offend our brother Americans we are spitting in the face of the very song we claim to be defending.

There's more in the second verse

O beautiful for pilgrim feet
Whose stern impassioned stress
A thoroughfare of freedom beat
Across the wilderness!America! America!
God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law**

The "beautiful pilgrim feet" are not just the feet of the "Pilgrims" who landed on Plymouth, but of all those who made a pilgrimage to America, every immigrant from those first Puritan separatists to the ones who stepped off the plane today. America has always been a nation of immigrants, just ask the Cherokee. And each successive wave has struggled to blaze their thoroughfare of freedom, their place in our society, their American dream. And we are all better because of it.

So if you sing this song, sing proudly of the country where by God's grace your ancestors landed or you yourself were able to reach. But also sing that God would "mend ...every flaw" in our country, including every root of hate and prejudice. Sing for the brotherhood of the diverse people who have immigrated here and those who (willingly or not) welcomed us here. Because that is what "America the Beautiful" is about. And that is what makes America beautiful.

#speaklove

*"The New Colossus" by Emma Lazarus 1893 was originally mounted on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty

**"America" penned in 1893 by Katherine Lee Bates. I quote the version which first appeared in 1913 as "America the Beautiful" and reflects how it is usually sung today

It's a Wonderful World (Jan 31, 2014)

3 Good Things That Happened This Week Around the World

Don't watch too much of the news. You will quickly become depressed. Regardless of your political perspective your side is always on the verge of loosing. Calamity abounds. People are killed. Fortunes are lost. War is just around the corner. All news is bad news.

In his book "What is Wrong with the World," G.K. Chesterton discusses the problem with only focusing on the evils of the world. 

  The only way to discuss the social evil is to get at once to the social ideal. We can all see the national madness; but what is national sanity? I have called this book "What Is Wrong with the World?" and the upshot of the title can be easily and clearly stated. What is wrong is that we do not ask what is right.

And there are a lot of things that are right with the world. Each Friday I will post 3 good things that happened in the world during the week, big and small along with links to articles about them. You may have heard of some of them already. Others might have gotten lost in the noise of all the bad news we are accustomed to hearing.

Take a moment to let the cares of impending war and financial meltdown fade away. Refocus on what is good in the world, following the advice of Paul the Messenger of Christ, "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." (Phil 4:8)

1. Toilets.  Diarrhea is the number one killer worldwide. The two big ways to bring it down are clean drinking water and proper sanitation. UNICEF reported this week that 2 billion people have gained access to toilets since 1990.  As a result of this and other factors, child mortality in developing countries continues to fall. We're winning the war, one toilet at a time.

2. Snow. People came together across the ice covered south to help those stranded by the crippling storm. People provided food, shelter, and assistance to complete strangers. Businesses across the south such as a Chick-fil-a franchise near Birmingham also joined in to feed motorists stranded on the highway at no charge. One doctor even traveled six miles by foot to perform a life saving surgery. It turns out that there really are good people in the world. And even flawed people often do great things for others when the need arises.

3. Peanuts. For some people, exposure to peanuts can be life-threatening due to an extreme allergy to the protein in peanuts. This week, researchers in the UK announced that peanut allergies have successfully been treated with small doses of peanuts. Who would have thought? After six months of peanut therapy, 85% of participants were able to consume 5 peanuts without a reaction. Please note, this study was done under intense medical supervision. Don't try this at home!

Stop Studying Theology

Stop studying theology if it fails to change your life. If it's a mere academic pursuit, then just stop it. It's worthless. Worse than worthless, it deceives you into thinking you are right about something. That you've found the way when you haven't. Academic knowledge is never the way. Following Jesus is the Way.

Stop talking about your beliefs if you don't act on them. So what if you understand the Trinity. You don't have the love of the Father, the leading of the Son, the fellowship of the Spirit. Admit you don't believe that God is good if you are going to repeatedly fail to do good when you have the power to act.

Don't tell me you believe people are made in God's image if you are going to walk out the door and ignore the people you pass by every day. Cease your rants about man's sinful nature if you do not mourn the sin in your own life.

Don't tell me about the doctrine of God's sovereignty and then go worry and fret, as if everything depends on you. Don't explain how man has freewill and then live as if you have no control over your own body.

Your knowledge sows death as you parse Greek tenses and debate textual differences. You are quick to condemn those who interpret your Bible differently than you. And the dying world looks on in wonder, glad to keep their distance from you and your theological correctness.

Don't deceive yourself into believing your lofty  teachings are a service. Avoid the delusion that correcting bad theology is a benefit to God and others. Don't fool yourself into thinking you can write a blog about following Jesus in place of actually following Jesus. More often than not our talk is just a waste of time. Our study is an exercise in futility.  Our teaching is hypocrisy.

God does not need any of us to explain Him, as if we even could. Here is what he wants from us.

"Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, be compassionate and loyal in your love,
And don’t take yourself too seriously—
take God seriously."
(Micah 6:8, The Message)

I Don't Really Care About Global Warming

As I'm writing this in my warm cozy apartment, it's 3° Fahrenheit outside. It didn't get over 10° today, as we sit underneath a voracious polar vortex. I laugh to see people using this singular cold snap to prove global warming is a hoax.  I find it equally humorous when people see the deep freeze as sure evidence of global warming.  What?

I'm not a meteorologist, and neither are most of the people who make such brash claims. So I don't really know the truth about global warming. I don't know if the earth is warming, or cycling. I don't know if humans are to blame for the alleged warming. It doesn't seem unreasonable that we are. But it really doesn't matter to me either way. The threat of potential global warming will have no impact on the decisions I make about consumption, fuel, food, or waste.

But this is what does make an impact on my decisions about consumption, fuel, food, and waste: God said "Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air, for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth.” (Gen 1:28 MSG) God holds me responsible for the world he has made. God has given us a mandate to take care of that world. We are co-rulers with God. And if we reflect God's heart, we will rule in a way that blesses everything under us. We will be a blessing to the land, the plants, the animals, and the people who depend on them.

God's greatest gift to humanity up to the advent of Jesus was the world itself. Designed by a masterful planner, the world has given us resources to build and grow and make an easy life for ourselves. God gave us a world full of animals, fish, trees, minerals, and farm-able land and fossil fuels. And every good gift comes from God (James 1:17). But the gift was given along with the responsibility to rule wisely.

It blows my mind that people who allegedly believe the Bible are often the harshest critics of responsible care for the earth. They drive their big SUVs and drink water from disposable bottles, and throw away excessive amounts of garbage, while refusing to support policies that protect the earth from the destruction humans are capable of. This is not responsible rule of creation. This is not obeying God's mandate to be responsible for every living thing on earth.

Regardless of the latest scientific views on global warming or popular environmentalist fads, followers of Jesus should be leading the way in responsible care for God's creation. Christ-followers should be the first to recycle, even when it's not convenient. Those who claim to be Christians should go out of their way to reduce their use of fossil fuels and other polluting chemicals. People who love Jesus should be champions of green energy, public transportation and better urban design, biking, walking, and green space. We should be using the creative powers God has blessed us with to find new ways to protect His creation and preserve it for those who will come after us.

We can do better. I want to be a better ruler of creation, so I am dedicating myself to being responsible for the environment around me. I challenge all of my readers to make a resolution to pick up one new habit this year to improve the part of creation you rule. Perhaps you can reduce your waste by  recycling or composting. Perhaps you reduce your consumption of fossil fuels by biking to work when the weather is suitable or even using public transportation for the first time. You could start by getting a refillable water bottle to take around with you. The possibilities are endless, and we don't have to join Green Peace to do it.

Refuse to let the world pass by. Be the ruler God intended you to be. He has given you an amazing gift called the world. Use it well this year.

The Story of 2013

Welcome to my written life. Look back at my posts over the last year and you get a bit of a story. This is the story of how I have tried to be more like Jesus in 2013.

I pondered a lot of theology this year. People or events raised my awareness to certain issues and I sought to not just be right about them, but to live right about them. I noticed injustices, sex trafficking, underpaid workers, even whole nations of people who are being oppressed and forgotten. and felt compelled to speak out on their behalf.  But I learned that the biggest injustices are the ones I perpetuate with my own excesses. So for much of the latter half of this year, I have set out to mark my life with simplicity and discipline. It has not been an easy path, but one well worth taking.

Here three of my favorite posts of the year. These each represent lessons God has been teaching me. They are personal. But they also represent the common condition of all who seek to follow Jesus in the real world. If you only have time to read three, these are the one's I'd suggest.

1. Let's Talk about Fasting - No one ever taught me how to fast, or even that I should fast. I set out to discover what it was all about, and at the end of my first seven day fast I came to this conclusion: we need to spend a lot more time on this.

2. Because We Can - This is about the time my seven year old daughter challenged me to step out of my comfort zone to help others. Sometimes the Holy Spirit sounds a lot like a second-grader.

3. Running to the Fire - Who was Ronnie Smith? Learn about his genuine life, his beautiful death, and how he isn't all that uncommon among Christ followers. "Ronnie ran to the fire. Ronnie fought the fire. And in the end, Ronnie wins."

There are a lot of things about me that I am still not happy with. I get caught up in a lot of the same old hangups I have struggled with for years. I can be kind of self-serving at times. It's not that I don't care about you, I just didn't notice that you exist. Sorry about that.

But when I look back at the last year, I can also see a lot of things I am happy about. God is not done with Zach Spiering. I am a different person than I was January 1, 2013. I have learned to be a more disciplined person (usually). I have a better perspective to view my money and possessions. I have learned a lot about being a better father. I have become more active in serving people.

This year I saw my readership expand. I am not a breakout success. None of my posts have gone viral. But more and more people are reading what I write. Maybe there's something to that.

I am not done changing. I am not done growing. As long as my journey can help and inspire yours, keep walking with me. Let's see how God leads us in 2014 as we seek to live like Jesus every day of the week.