A WORD FOR TODAY, January 16, 2026
Peggy Hoppes
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Blessings. Peg
A WORD FOR TODAY, January 16, 2026
“‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not my ways,’ says Yahweh. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.’” Isaiah 55:8-9, WEB
I was listening to a clip from a comedian the other day. He was talking about how this generation is not as strong as previous generations. One of his jokes hit pretty close to home for me. He said, “If cell service went down, we’d all be dead in three days.” While this is an exaggeration (that’s what makes comedy funny), I know that I’d struggle without my phone. I know that it wasn’t that long ago that I didn’t even have a cell phone, but we have all come to rely on them for everything.
I still use a desktop computer, but I like the portability of my phone. I often research items I’m thinking about buying while I am in a store, asking Google for reviews or for other prices. I set my GPS even when I’m going to well known places, and I rely on it heavily when I am going to somewhere new. I like to be in touch with my family. I use my phone to take pictures of interesting things when I’m out and about such new products in the grocery store and my lunch at my favorite restaurant. And of course I keep track of my social media wherever I am.
It is amazing to think that those little handheld phones are run by supercomputers. Ok, our phones are as complex as modern supercomputers, but they are far and away greater than any of the computers from the early days. It is fun to look at photos of the earliest computers. They were huge; they filled entire rooms and didn’t really accomplish much when you consider today’s computer technology.
Everything has a computer chip these days, from pens to toilets to football helmets. You can’t buy anything electronic that doesn’t have a computer inside. Even credit cards work with computer chips. This often makes the equipment easier to use, and even easier to diagnose, but more expensive to fix. A friend once told me that she’d pay more for an old-fashioned washing machine rather than buying one that has all the bells and whistles. I’m going to sound like an old fuddy duddy, but the new-fangled things seem to break quicker and it is usually cheaper to replace than fix, so we toss it in a landfill and buy something new. We have a refrigerator that is more than two decades old, and another with fancy features that we’ve had to replace twice.
We have come to rely on our computers. We like waving our credit cards in front of the magic box because sliding it through the slot is so much work. We like having a pen that records the lecture on which we are taking notes because we can never remember what we meant when we scribbled those half sentences. Computers make our lives easier; at least we think they do until something goes wrong. How many of us become frustrated when our laptops or tablets decide to do something we do not expect? What do we do when the screen freezes? What do we do when our files suddenly disappear? I usually scream and then cry. Then I start over again.
The earliest computers did exactly what the operator told it to do. They were used mostly for analyzing information. One of the first computers was sold to the U.S. Census department to make sense of the numbers. Now computers not only process input information, but they make choices based on patterns. Have you noticed how the ads on your computer seem to match things you've done on the computer? Somewhere in the vast networks you've surfed, a computer has determined that you are interested in certain things, and it will make sure you see advertisements geared toward your interests. Computers can determine the environment and do whatever is necessary to make our world comfortable. The trend toward AI is helpful but sometimes frightening.
Computers are even being designed to have intelligence comparable to human beings. Take, for instance, the new self-driving cars. Even today's average cars have features that make it so much easier for a human being to drive. I love cruise control because I can sit more comfortably when on the open highway. I still have to pay attention, but the cruise control helps keep the car at a consistent pace. The self-driving cars supposedly make it possible for the driver to do nothing. It starts and stops on its own. It determines traffic patterns and makes decisions about speed and direction.
Unfortunately, they are definitely not perfect. I have heard stories of self-driving cars causing issues. They sometimes unnecessarily break, and one story talked about how a power outage caused several self-driving cars to stall in city intersections. Another story noted how the self-driving cars do not recognize the flashing lights and stop sign on school buses, ignoring the rules to stop for the safety of students.
I love computers and I'm thankful for the ways that they make life easier. We must, however, remember that they are created beings. Worse than that: they are created beings created by created beings. We are imperfect and while a computer may be smarter than we are, they aren’t human. We can’t create something that is better than ourselves. Computers fail. They freeze. They break down. And they can’t be held responsible when something goes wrong because they have no moral compass. How do we provide justice if a self-driving car’s computer fails and it runs into a crowd of people, killing many? We need to keep the tools of our world in their proper place.
See, we are reminded by our own creations that we can never be greater than our Creator. Sadly, we try. Just as we have tried to build computers that are independent of human operation, we try to be independent of our God. We make decisions not based on His truth but on our feelings. We do what we think is right but eventually realize that God’s way is always better. We take over the controls but constantly fail to stay on the right path. Just as a human driver will always be better than a self-controlled car, our Father in Heaven will always have better answers because He has an omnipotent and omniscient point of view.
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