Brian Regan. Thomas Jefferson. Aurora Borealis. All three of these share one thing in common. All three are in the top ten list of what is currently trending on google. Our generation is a unique one in that we now have the tools and resources to access information in a way that was not possible for our predecessors. As a result, we are now faced with the indelible dilemma that marks our technologized world: should I learn this? It is an interesting question to consider and one which Christians have sadly ignored. In my own experience, I have found the insatiable urge to search, to discover, to acquire, or in our terms, to google just about everything under the sun. Like Sisyphus, I have gone about this futile task by clicking and reclicking, scrolling and rescrolling only to watch the stone of information fall back, rinse and repeat. And like Sisyphus, such a task is an empty and endless one. "Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher (Ecclesiastes 1:2)."
While we may pretend that our quest to read about "Fifteen Ways to Fry a Turkey" or "The Watergate Scandal" is a noble one, there remains a suspiscion in us that, if we were honest we would admit, causes us to question whether or not we are really filling our minds or simply having our minds filled. The difference, I think, lies in the fact that information does not equal knowledge. Laying aside for the moment that much of our internet habits concern the trivial (how many trinkets Bill Murray has in his basement), even the good information that we obtain if not directed to a proper end is superfluous. This is because true learning does not consist merely in the acquiring of facts but in the renewal of the mind (cf. Romans 12:2). As Paul continues to say in the same passage, the renewal of the mind is so that we can discern the will of the Lord. The implication here is that information is not to be and cannot be processed in isolation from a Christian worldview. All our learning ought to be for the aim of discernment.
In constrast to approaching the discovery of facts as a way of renewing our minds to God's will, I find that often my motives are more self-serving. The reason I google "The History of Dispensationalism" or "Solipsism" more often than not has to do with my desire to master knowledge than a desire to be conformed to God's image. However, the quest for more knowledge, this hunger for omniscience, is folly and can never be sated. Thus, google exists to show that the search for knowledge for knowledge's sake is endless and futile. In our limited capacity, we can never know anything fully, but we can be fully known by our Creator. God does not need google trends to know who we are and what we want. He has our cookies not just of our internet searches but of our lives and that is a history that cannot be deleted. In order to be a wiser steward of the internet in general and google in particular, I have decided to ask myself a few questions with regard to my searches: Why am I looking for this? Could my time be better spent doing something else? Will the information I am seeking lead me to worship Christ more?
Question: What are your thoughts on a good stewardship of google and the related issue of social media sites? What are some of your "cyber sins" and the way in which the internet can become an idol for you?
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