Written by John Mark Comer, a contemporary pastor and author. This is an excerpt from his course on Practicing the Way.
Ours is the digital age. Indeed, one interpretation of the sociopolitical chaos of the last few years in America and beyond is that it’s not about politics at all; it’s about the social disruption caused by the shift from an industrial to a digital world. We’re living through a key inflection point in human history, and we’re feeling the vertigo of an entire world turned upside down in just a few decades. I grew up in Silicon Valley, and I’m well aware of the power of tech for good. But for all the genuine value it’s added to the world, digital technology has had … disastrous effects on our generation’s formation. It’s formed us to expect life to be easy, fast, and controllable. After all, we can just slide our thumb and dinner will magically appear at our door twenty minutes later…. As a result, we are conditioned to expect quick, fast results with minimal effort, all at our beck and call. We often carry this mindset over into our formation—we assume we just need to find the right technique or life hack to solve the problem of the soul. But in reality, formation into the image of Jesus is hard, slow, and we are not in control. There’s no killer app, no quick fix, no shortcut. The formation of the human soul is more like growing a vineyard than ordering takeout.
Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! [Psalm 139:23-24]
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