Google-ized Gospel
Easy come; easy go!
I'm not sure where the phrase originated, or to whom it should be attributed; but it has a ring of truth to it. The things that are gained with ease in this life are usually the same things that are easily taken away. I think many of us hear those words and begin thinking financially. We remember stories of people chasing fast money, then recall how quickly it departed from them. But the phrase holds in many areas of life, including the gathering of information.
We are now approximately 15 years into the invention of a powerful new way of gaining information. Search engines such as Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc, have made it easy for us to find information we would have once had to pry open an encyclopedia or dust off an old newspaper to obtain. With a few keystrokes one might find everything they need to know about the second law of thermodynamics. It is certainly a technological blessing, and I cannot imagine what the country would look like without these powerful resources.
There is, however, a curse that has accompanied the arrival of these search engines. The ease with which we now obtain information has caused many to view once treasured information as commonplace. Nowhere is this more evident, in my opinion, than amongst western Christians.
What was once a hallowed tradition of memorizing scripture has been reduced to google-izing it. What was once an understood bumpy journey to understanding theologies has been reduced to saying, "Well, I'll just look it up on Google." Google is good; I don't want this to be read as a criticism of this technological gift. What is not good is when we allow the easy access we have to information diminish the way we feel about our treasures.
Throughout the bible there are references to how we should hold God's word.
Deuteronomy 11:18 So commit yourselves completely to these words of mine. Tie them to your hands as a reminder, and wear them on your forehead. 19 Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are away on a journey, when you are lying down and when you are getting up again. 20 Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, 21so that as long as the sky remains above the earth, you and your children may flourish in the land the LORD swore to give your ancestors.
Psalm 119:11 I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
Job 23:12 I have not departed from the commandment of his lips; I have treasured in my bosom the words of his mouth.
Many of us have even heard it from our parents; wondering why it is they wanted us to constantly study the Bible and commit it to memory. It is because they understood the importance of having the word hidden in our hearts. It is one thing to say say, "I'll just Google it;" it is something altogether different to recall it from the depths of your being when tough times, good times, bad times, celebratory times, etc, arise.
Not that we won't have an opportunity to open our smart phones and do a search for "What God's word says about _____." But to know it, to have it treasured deep within, to OWN it, will make one become a certain and sure person who is settled firmly on solid ground.
It was this same reason why the Wesley's and many other hymn writers wrote the way they did. It was a way of conveying the faith to the memory of a person so that it could be recalled at a moments notice. I still remember the first hymn I learned, Before the Throne of God Above. There is a certain line in it that I will never forget.
When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within
Upward I look and see him there
Who made an end of all my sin
Because the sinless savior died
My sinful soul is counted free
For God the just is satisfied
To look on him and pardon me!
Whenever I find myself in a fit of self-condemnation, these lyrics rise up within me, followed quickly by Romans 8. They are treasures to me.
Google is an essential and vital tool that we should value. But we should not let it cause us to devalue the things we treasure the most. So commit to studying and memorizing God's word, and the hymns that speak of God's truth. You will be better for having done so.
By the way, the phrase "Easy come easy go" was the title of several movies and songs. I googled it!