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“Why should fools have a price in hand to buy wisdom, when they have no mind to learn?”
–– Proverbs 17:16
I may have previously mentioned that I remain somewhat of a Luddite when it comes to technology. My iPhone is still in the mid-single-digits and when others around me are talking about new platforms I assume they are speaking of clunky shoes from the early ‘70s. I have managed to host innumerable Zoom meetings, but I’m about to shift to a hybrid format with the help of some wired avian creature, and I’m petrified. If the old myth that we use only 10% of our brains was true, and I use only 3% of my computer’s features, that’s a whole lot of real estate gathering cobwebs. Following reports on the darker side of Microsoft’s new chatbot, I found myself in a store admiring a vintage pencil, and that was after luxuriating in the feel of the paper in an overpriced journal.
Yet, even though I am warmed by the sight of Wednesday Addams making a manual typewriter seem cool again, I, in no way wish to return to the days of Wite-Out. Advances in technology and science have opened up whole new worlds, even for a Luddite like me. Nothing thrills me more than seeing people in places far away maintaining a close connection to our community of faith –– worshiping with us, studying with us –– because of the gift of technology. In addition, isn’t it marvelous to see the leap forward in the design and use of prosthetics, giving mobility and independence to those brave souls who have suffered trauma. Or, how about this? Researchers at George Mason University are working on a technology that could possibly drown forest fires with sonic waves. Maybe those old Metallica records of yours still have a purpose! And I have to admit, the appearance of these new high tech, restomod Mustangs and Austin Healys sets my car-loving heart to racing before reality regains control.
However, having the ability to obtain the latest and greatest in gears, gadgets and gizmos does little to instill in us the wisdom of how we can live and flourish together. We are bombarded with images of people reveling in the ostentation of some incredibly expensive toys, which ironically serves to reveal some incredibly small minds. A life defined by self-indulgence leaves little room for valuing relationships, or making sacrifices for the benefit of others, or examining the complexities of an issue before rendering judgment. Thus, we see reason for the wisdom writer’s question: “Why should fools have a price in hand to buy wisdom, when they have no mind to learn?” As the wisdom writer says elsewhere in Proverbs, “The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, but the Lord tests the heart.”
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