Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Food for thought - The Mobile and the Bible

(Local newspaper column)
I love gadgets. I love having a digital camera and playing around with it. I love my iPod and being able to listen to whatever I want wherever I am. But there is one gadget that just doesn’t excite me – the mobile phone. I do own one, but it isn’t the latest or the smallest and it doesn’t even have a camera. But I see that I am almost alone in this. Everywhere you look someone is gabbing into a bright shiny phone, or a cluster of people are standing round peering at photos on a 2 inch screen, or talking about their latest upgrade deal.

It has become the new mentor that has to be consulted before we do anything. It carries our lives, our diary, numbers, games, messages, pictures, and music. It has become the new Bible. But I can think of several ways that a Bible is better than a mobile:
  • It doesn’t need charged.
  • There is nowhere where it is out of coverage.
  • No-one will beat you up for your Bible.
  • There’s no monthly bill, or pay as you go.
  • A mobile turns you into a slave who can always be found, the Bible sets you free.
  • Phones carry possible health risks; the message of the Bible enables you to live forever.
  • They don’t keep issuing better models with new options every two months.
I wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our mobile phone?
  • What if we carried it around in our bags or pockets?
  • What if we turned back to go and get it if we forgot it?
  • What if we referred to it several times a day?
  • What if we used it to receive messages from God?
  • What if we treated it like we couldn't live without it?
  • What if we took it out of our pocket to pass the time on a journey?
  • What if we gave it to kids as gifts?
  • What if we used it as we travelled?
  • What if we used it in case of an emergency?
One more advantage a Bible has over a mobile - You can get one free from me, but you won’t get a free mobile! If you would like one, or if you would like someone to give you a beginners guide to the Bible, get in touch.

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