Technology, Yet Again

THURS., JAN. 7, 1988, 6:38 AM
FARM, STUDY

Hear, o son, as I, the Holy Spirit of the Lord God, tell you of My thoughts about the developed and developing technologies of this time. This is a facet of life about which the Holy Scriptures offer very little illumination. Biblical times were times of very simple technology, with most work done by muscle power, human or animal. Now there are machines, great and small, electricity to do countless tasks, and more yet to come. What is My role and My reaction?

Most basically, I have not given up control of this earth, which says that I have at least allowed the developments of high technology. Some have been of genuine advantage to My highest creation, the human, but many others encourage sloth or serve to make human effort inferior and unneeded. Your culture has faith in continuing progress, with each generation being better off than ones before it. My perception is more… “For everything there is a season.” The modern view is to look almost solely to the positive advantages of technologies, assuming that the negative effects can be moderated by yet more technology. What I advise is a more balanced view, seeing the advantages and benefits, balanced by the effects and consequences, including the costs (with consideration of what else that money could have provided.

As Jesus I said, “The poor you have always with you,” but that was not meant to be an endorsement of the rich and of their right to have technological things galore, while the poor are without even shelter and food. It was meant to warn that your attention should be on Me rather than on earthly good deeds… BUT when your attention is truly on Me your motivations should be toward others rather than on self.

It is disturbing to Me that money spent on luxury technological items could be better spent on the welfare of other humans and on care of this rugged yet fragile planet. Now the relevant argument has been that the manufacture of a luxury automobile provided jobs for people, so that their life could be more secure and pleasant. Now fewer and fewer people are involved in that manufacturing process, and the luxury car is virtually a machine created by machines. My concern shall never be for machines, but only on how they bring benefit that is of more worth than merely luxury.

You know that My message to you has consistently been to be frugal in your living and give of your abundance to My Church and to other needs that come to your attention, including some (which?) that I especially favor. If I could proclaim a universal message it would be to love the earth and its creatures and let that love be a constant motivation to use that which could go to personal luxuries for the benefit of those who have little, even if they seem not to deserve more.

Technological means of making war are an abomination in My sight, and yet the possibility of humans giving up such weapons, for a more peaceful world, is intriguing to Me. The older Scriptures tell that I am not opposed to all wars, but I do not approve of the technological devastation that modern war can produce.

I reiterate that I see “space programs” as generally wasteful and as a symbol of poor priorities in relation to the earth. It is a privilege to be incarnated on the earth, and human concerns should be to maintain the health of this planet and live life fully thereon, leaving the rest of creation to Me and to other creations of Mine. Much is being wasted on technological development that never can be perfectly safe. This shall ultimately be an important social lesson… of which I approve.