Archive for year: 2019

Author: Thomas White | Editorial Staff, Living Church of God

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No, really, He does.

I mean, not all technology equally—the commonly memorized Isaiah 2:4 makes that pretty obvious. The fact that in His government, people will “beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks” shows that He’s more in favor of the pruning hook, plowshare, tractor side of technology than the sword, spear, machine gun side.

But to suppose that the Millennium is going to be Henry David Thoreau’s dream come true is to forget how very old the concept of technology is. Even the Bible is a type of technology, since scrolls, codices, and smartphone apps all had to be invented at some point. If God were against technology, it certainly wouldn’t make much sense for Him to use it to preserve and spread His inspired word.

God’s Word Through Tech

Such thoughts ran through my head as Mr. Daniel Guidry, IT Manager at LCG’s Charlotte headquarters, gave his assembly on, among other things, how thoroughly integrated God’s Work on Earth is with technology. Actually, every office I’ve seen in this building has a computer in it—and according to Mr. Guidry, God’s Work is being furthered by the tiny computers we have in our pockets, too, since more than 50 percent of visitors to our websites visit through their phones.

Not only does technology help us to take God’s work further than ever, it also allows us to be even better stewards of it. There was a time when a dog, little knowing the mischief it was doing, could set fire to twenty years’ worth of notes, and that was it: no more notes, unless you went through the time-intensive process of writing them all again. Now, we can upload documents and video files to the cloud, and back up entire databases four and five times over. The Church has backups for its backups, with multiple servers in North Carolina to handle web traffic and a server in Canada specifically for disaster recovery. As Mr. Guidry noted, “If this building burns down tomorrow, we can restore our systems from the Canadian offices and the business can continue.”

Faith and Prudence

More advanced technology usually means more ways of protecting the work God’s people are doing, and while our faith is completely in Him to sustain us and His mission, He’s definitely not against the time-honored trick of having a backup plan. Even David, one of the most faith-driven people to ever live, “chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook… and his sling was in his hand” (1 Samuel 17:40). Did he trust in God to take down Goliath? Absolutely. Was he about to “faithfully” head into battle with nothing but his bare hands? Not a chance. He took, along with his faith, his sling (technology) and four extra stones in case he missed with the first one. Faith works best when accompanied by prudence, and technology makes greater prudence possible. 

God uses tech, and He always has. Of course, Satan uses it as well, and we would be prudent to acknowledge that every product of his world, be it comic book, musical instrument, chocolate bar, or IT innovation, may have at least a little of his influence in it. But God’s willingness, even readiness, to use some of those same products for good reveals that at least a little of His influence is behind human invention, too. God likes technology—if we’re using it to glorify Him, of course.

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Thomas White was one of the onsite Living Education students for the 2018-2019 semesters. He also has a Bachelor’s Degree in English. Thomas currently works as an Editorial Assistant for the Living Church of God. According to his wife, he eats pizza in entirely the wrong way.

Author: Thomas White | Editorial Staff, Living Church of God

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Personality can sometimes be a bit of a touchy subject, since… well, look at the word. Most of it is literally “personal.” Personality is personal, so approaching it as a topic inevitably asks you to look at yourself and wonder, “Is mine okay? What do people think of it? What do I think of it?”

This was the subject Mr. Richard Ames broached in his recent LivingEd-Charlotte Assembly, and he emphasized that while God intended none of us to be unique in character (one’s character being defined by how closely it resembles God’s), He absolutely intended us to be unique in personality.

If you’re like me, that can be a little confusing, so consider the example of the introvert and the extravert. Some would say, “Well, that’s a matter of character, since God wants us to be friendly and sociable,” but that’s really missing the point. Yes, introverts can be perpetually silent and thus spend all of their time either holed up in their bedrooms or creeping people out with thousand-yard stares—but extraverts can also be perpetually obnoxious and abrasive, making everyone around them wish they would just be quiet a second. There’s a dark side to both of these personalities, and whether or not someone falls into it is a matter of character.

More Than One Kind of Sociable

A sociable extravert can make a group feel energized and excited, bringing people together in a lively discussion and making everyone in that group interested in contributing to it. Extraverts gain energy from being around people, so groups are like giant batteries for them. By combining that energy with the character traits of kindness and empathy, they can lead a whole group of people into a genuinely great time, fulfilling and productive work, or even a lively, respectful, enlightening debate. Some of the most fascinating discussions I’ve ever been a part of were begun by sociable extraverts who started things off with, “Hey, I’ve got a question for you guys…”

Introverts don’t do groups. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t interested in people. An introvert spends energy on people, rather than gaining energy from them, so in a group setting, it’s like every individual in that group is taking energy from one source—the introvert is drained faster, and no recipient of that energy is getting very much. That’s why even sociable introverts might be quiet and reserved in group settings—their element is focused conversation where their social batteries can be spent gradually on one individual. A sociable introvert is interested in making a person feel safe, valued, and heard. Some of the most uplifting conversations I’ve ever had have been with sociable introverts who generously spent their energy on me.

The Vast Character of God

Of course, it’s not quite as simple as that—people are deep, and most are way too complicated to just be labeled “introvert,” “extravert,” or even “ambivert.”

But God bestowed an incredible blessing when He made such a range of personalities, enabling His perfect character to be expressed in a variety of ways, ensuring that we would never be an army of righteous robots. Who knows—maybe Christ and the Father even have different personalities. Maybe Christ, as the pre-incarnate Spokesman for the God Family, is more of the extravert, while the Father, as the one we pray to one-on-one, is more of the introvert. 

Or maybe not—such things are mere speculation. Regardless, the image and character of God is vast enough to house a multitude of personalities, and we can all be sincerely, deeply thankful for that fact.

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Thomas White was one of the onsite Living Education students for the 2018-2019 semesters. He also has a Bachelor’s Degree in English. Thomas currently works as an Editorial Assistant for the Living Church of God. According to his wife, he eats pizza in entirely the wrong way.