http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2015:17-20&version=NIV
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Titus%201:15&version=NIV
I don’t have a smart phone. Yet. I wouldn’t mind having one but I don’t want to have to pay the $30/month data fee that comes with it! I understand that smart phones can be pretty useful. There are a large variety of apps that are available for personal use. Apps that count calories. Or design recipes. Or keep track of sports. Or the weather. You name it. I read about a recent app that is available that created quite a stir.
The app is called ‘Jew or not a Jew?’ It was created by Johann Levy and hit the stores a few months ago. The app allows a person to type in the name of a celebrity or public figure and find out if they are Jewish or not. Yikes! When I first read this I immediately thought of Adolph Hitler and Nazi Germany. They would have loved this app! In fact, my first impression was that this was some neo-Nazi creation. With all the anti-Semitism in the world these days what a terrible app to have available.
Fortunately, the creation of the app is not so sinister. It seems that Levy, who is Jewish himself, developed the app strictly for recreational use. Apparently there is a sense of curiosity in the Jewish community over whether certain celebrities are Jewish or not. So Levy designed this particular app to satisfy such curiosity. Whew! I feel a little better now knowing this. Still, the app has been very controversial. In France four anti-racism associations filed a lawsuit asking to have the app removed. There were afraid of the negative side effects of this particular app. Levy agreed to remove it from circulation.
What to make of this? To me it just goes to show that anything can be used for good or for bad. When used the way that the designer Levy intended it to be used, the app could be useful and entertaining. However, when the app is used to profile and target individuals because of their ethnicity, it could be very bad.
The app is called ‘Jew or not a Jew?’ It was created by Johann Levy and hit the stores a few months ago. The app allows a person to type in the name of a celebrity or public figure and find out if they are Jewish or not. Yikes! When I first read this I immediately thought of Adolph Hitler and Nazi Germany. They would have loved this app! In fact, my first impression was that this was some neo-Nazi creation. With all the anti-Semitism in the world these days what a terrible app to have available.
Fortunately, the creation of the app is not so sinister. It seems that Levy, who is Jewish himself, developed the app strictly for recreational use. Apparently there is a sense of curiosity in the Jewish community over whether certain celebrities are Jewish or not. So Levy designed this particular app to satisfy such curiosity. Whew! I feel a little better now knowing this. Still, the app has been very controversial. In France four anti-racism associations filed a lawsuit asking to have the app removed. There were afraid of the negative side effects of this particular app. Levy agreed to remove it from circulation.
What to make of this? To me it just goes to show that anything can be used for good or for bad. When used the way that the designer Levy intended it to be used, the app could be useful and entertaining. However, when the app is used to profile and target individuals because of their ethnicity, it could be very bad.
We see this potential for either good or bad use in other areas as well. Food is something that is necessary for our physical growth and survival. And a lot of it tastes great! But too much food, or the wrong kinds of food, can lead to obesity. Or a host of other physical maladies. Wine is good. Many people enjoy having a glass with their meal. (Even though, I, myself have never tasted it). But too much wine can be destructive to our health. And sometimes to the health of others. The list goes on and on of things that can be either good or bad depending upon how they are used. Guns. Knives. Technology. Music. Nuclear energy, etc.
So what’s the solution? The heart. Not the organ that pumps blood through our bodies. The part of our being from which desires originate. See what Jesus had to say about this in Luke 6:45. “A good person brings good things out of the good stored up in their heart, and an evil person brings evil things out of the evil stored up in their heart.” The solution is to change the heart. To have it regenerated. Sanctified. This is where the Gospel comes in.
The Gospel changes people’s hearts. In 2 Corinthians 5:17 we are told that when a person repents and puts their faith in Jesus as their Savior that “they are a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” Once the heart has been changed everything else changes. Our attitudes change. Our desires change. Our words change. Our behavior changes. And the way that we use things such as guns, music, and technology also changes.
So let’s keep the main thing the main thing here. Many things in life are neutral, meaning that they can be used for either good or bad. As Christians, let’s endeavor to use the things in our lives the right way. The godly way. The beneficial way.
Lord, I thank you for the many things that are available to me in our present culture. Things such as food, technology, entertainment, etc. Help me to use them with a pure heart. To use them as You would want me to use them. To be a blessing in my life. And a blessing in the lives of others. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
So what’s the solution? The heart. Not the organ that pumps blood through our bodies. The part of our being from which desires originate. See what Jesus had to say about this in Luke 6:45. “A good person brings good things out of the good stored up in their heart, and an evil person brings evil things out of the evil stored up in their heart.” The solution is to change the heart. To have it regenerated. Sanctified. This is where the Gospel comes in.
The Gospel changes people’s hearts. In 2 Corinthians 5:17 we are told that when a person repents and puts their faith in Jesus as their Savior that “they are a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” Once the heart has been changed everything else changes. Our attitudes change. Our desires change. Our words change. Our behavior changes. And the way that we use things such as guns, music, and technology also changes.
So let’s keep the main thing the main thing here. Many things in life are neutral, meaning that they can be used for either good or bad. As Christians, let’s endeavor to use the things in our lives the right way. The godly way. The beneficial way.
Lord, I thank you for the many things that are available to me in our present culture. Things such as food, technology, entertainment, etc. Help me to use them with a pure heart. To use them as You would want me to use them. To be a blessing in my life. And a blessing in the lives of others. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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