Alexa

I have never been too good at using technology, but it recently occurred to me that I have robots doing my bidding. About a year ago we brought Amazon’s Alexa into our house. Alexa is there at a second’s notice to answer any question, remind us of things, set alarms, play music, and a host of other things. Depending on how much a person wants, Alexa can turn on your lights, coffee makers, or even lock your doors, all at your command. I was laying in bed on Sunday afternoon, and not wanting to get up to let the dog out, I said, “Alexa, drop in on Reagan.” At that point I basically had an intercom system where I can hear my daughter and she can hear me (and the government can hear us both, I’m sure). Before I could ask her to let the dog out, I could hear her saying, “Alexa, what time is it?”

It struck me how much we rely on technology to do things we can easily do ourselves. My children don’t even appreciate how new this all is, how quickly our world is changing. Remember telephones? We used to use them to call people. If you had a question, you dialed a person’s number and if they answered, you talked over the phone. Now we text or use some other messaging service. With my iPad open I can just say, “Hey Siri, send a text.” Once I dictate the message, it is sent and I just wait on a reply. I heard a radio host recently talk about how rude it is to call people. There is nothing worse, she said, then the sound of a phone ringing, because the only people who call are unsolicited telemarketers. 

Language is also changing. Every day there is a new list of words we can’t say. If you said it last week, no problem; if you say it today, your show is cancelled. The world is changing at an alarming rate. Some of this change is good, some is bad, and some is neutral, but it is changing quickly. 

If all this change unsettles you, I have a good reminder: God’s Word is eternally unchanging. While some liberals may try to reinterpret this or remove that, the Bible is settled and the canon is closed. I love Psalm 119:89, which succinctly says, “Forever, Oh Lord, your Word is settled in heaven” We can trust its timeless truths because it is settled and sealed in heaven. God’s Word is unchanging because He is unchanging. Of Himself God says, “I am the Lord, I do not change (Malachi 3:6),” and the author of Hebrews adds that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever (13:8).” 

Our constantly changing world may leave us unsure of how to speak or how to act in society, but God’s unchanging Word gives us assurance on how to speak and how to act. If we build our lives upon the foundation of the Bible, we are going to be just fine. Though all other ground may be sinking sand, on Christ and His Word—the solid rock—I will stand