Smartphone and technology - Lessons from their Power to Probe our Privacy

The New York Times recently ran an article about the court case between Apple and FBI in regard to 'legal' access to hack into smart phones.  The article concluded with the following about our increasingly technological 'smartphone' world:

The Internet of Things will follow a similar path. Employers and insurance companies may require you to wear health-tracking devices. It may become impossible to find cars without cameras and sensors. Every fridge will come with cameras inside whether you like it or not.

"From a historical perspective, we're entering into a very new era," said Jennifer Granick, director of civil liberties at the Stanford Center for Internet and Society. Not long ago, we were living in a world in which surveillance was difficult. "In the past, you and I would have a conversation in person. No record would be made; nobody would have access to it. I wrote things on paper; I burned them in my fireplace. They were gone forever."

But in the absence of technical and legal protections, technology is upturning those presumptions.

"Now we have a surveillance-enabled world," Ms. Granick said. "It's cheap, and it's easy. The question that society has to ask is, Is that what we really want?"

The content of the article certainly bears careful consideration.

It's easy to respond with fear - but instead we should respond with careful consideration of the circumstances and trust in our Creator.

It's easy to respond with blind acceptance - but instead we should respond with care and caution looking beyond immediate pleasure and convenience to future consequences.  We will reap what we sow, so we need to be careful what we are sowing.

But it is good to think about the lessons we can learn.

1.The fear of 'eyes and ears' observing and recording our every move is 'small stuff'.

 If we are fearful of being 'listened in' to in all our life and conversations, how much more should we be fearful of the what God our eternal Judge can do.   This exposure and recording of our lives is just a drop in the ocean in comparison to what God will do on judgement day. One day our every idle and careless word will be played back.  Don't totally dismiss this fear of exposure without examining it in the light of the ultimate eternal exposure.  This is a challenge for our own lives, but also maybe a means to help people to actually tune into their fear and to bring a greater awareness of the fear they should have of God, who can do more than an earthly court and will decide whether we have eternal acceptance in God's presence or eternal rejection from Him forever.

2. What a privilege we have in Christ.  While we can fear all the stuff we have ever done and said, we can gain comfort from the fact that if we are forgiven in Christ, our sin is gone forever.  Though God has the power to bring every recording back, He chooses not to take the opportunity to incriminate us yet again.   He chooses to not ever use that evidence against us ever again.  We don't need to fear that.  Sin forgiven is sin removed - while we may still feel its effects here on earth and 'remember' it to be able to learn lessons from it, as far as eternal record is concerned, it is gone. Yes we will be judged in regard to our 'works' for the purposes of rewards, but our 'sin' list for the purposes of eternal condemnation has been wiped clean.  God not only has the perfect record to lay accusation at the feet of the sinner, but He also has the perfect eraser so that as saints, our 'slate' is clean. There is no hidden hard-drive record or 'cloud' to pull data from.  We don't deserve it, but we have been given the verdict 'clean' - no dirt to dig up on this one!  Let the growing levels of insecurity in our world (even from the risks of exposure through devices in our homes), remind you of your eternal security in Christ.

We have no need to fear those who can kill the body or destroy a reputation or expose the'nakedness' of our private moments, not when we have chosen instead to fear the One who has the power over eternal life and death and we have come to Him in repentance and faith and know His forgiveness.  Instead we are now the objects and recipients of His love, clothed in the righteousness of His Son.

Yes, be careful, be cautious, and be wise with technology - don't be so consumed with today's pleasure and ease that you are blind to future destructive consequences....BUT also remember to fear God, more than man and his methods or machines.  And let that fear either drive you to repentance if you have not yet allowed the Saviour of the World to rescue you from sin, or let it drive you to love and thankfulness if you do know the Saviour.