Becoming Technicians

I love the technicians in my life. The people that I can turn to for help and insight regarding that ‘stuff’ that makes things work down deep inside. Software techs, IT techs, Mechanical techs, Media techs, Computer techs, Communication techs, and the list goes on. It truly is a ‘technological age’ that we live in.

For many of us, our entire business is dependent on a number of techs being able to keep our day-to-day essentials functioning minute by minute. There’s certainly not a week that goes by without having something I have to consult a tech about.

We’ve all had those days when the ‘system crashes’ for one reason or another and virtually everything comes to a standstill. Then the Techs step in, and the mysterious world of cyberspace is invaded (Trouble shooting), realigned and set in motion to serve us again.

It’s an amazing thing, that keeps our world functioning so that we can have all the knowledge of the ages at our fingertips. And now our work is made easier with the advent of AI that can even free us from having to put our thoughts and information together.

But wait . . . What’s happening here? Whose work is it really? What happens when I find myself away from my desk and my computer and even out of cell service and I have to actually take data, process it with paper and pen (God forbid) and put it into some logical, actionable plan – and then even execute that plan? Many of us would be ‘toast’, as the saying goes. But I digress, this process/eventuality is a good topic for another time.

I want to circle back to our world of ‘technicians’ and ask ourselves if we are becoming ‘technicians’ of our faith? Do we look at our faith with the objective of gathering enough data to make the right choices or to please God?

The definition of a technician is a person who is trained or skilled in the technicalities of a subject. Now we know that technicalities are important in understanding our faith and putting it into practice, but technicalities can get in the way of our faith as well. The Priests, Levites, Sadducees, and Pharisees were all caught up in technicalities driven by fear and control. So much so, that they developed over 600 technicalities (The oral Traditions) that did nothing to set their people free. In fact, it was these very technicalities that Jesus challenged on a regular basis because they had put a tremendous burden on the Jews that kept them from true freedom and joy.

Our challenge than becomes one of balancing the validity of the technicalities of scripture with the freedom we have in Christ. Few people are drawn to a faith of or in technicalities.

All of the technicalities of our faith are actually met in the command to love God, love ourselves (because of what God has done in and for us), and to love our neighbor as we love God and ourselves.

Let’s become technicians of Truth and Faith.