Our generation seems to be preoccupied with the ability to put circumstances on “automatic pilot.” The newest invention is self-driving cars. Before that were self-flying drones.
The obvious question, to me, is why are we trying to write ourselves out of involvement in our own lives and jobs? That’s a question that probes human motivation. The next question, looking to the future, is what will be the consequence?
As I drive down Austin city streets with Waymo vehicles passing me, I get an eerie feeling as I peer into empty driver seats. Will actual people become expendable?
Ironically enough, as I think about the way God sees people, I realize we are anything but expendable. In fact, we are precious. Believing in God the Creator and Redeemer of mankind reveals a weightiness about human beings. God so loved the world that he gave what was most precious to himself. I suppose he could have sent a robot, but instead he sent his own Son.
Likewise, when I think about the position and commission Jesus has given to us, his disciples, I am even more struck by the weight of authority he has placed upon us. The responsibility of God-given authority – of being his hands and feet to the world – is the opposite of being expendable.
I don’t know, maybe we’re afraid of the responsibility. Maybe we’re lazy. But we had better wake up or we might “automate” ourselves out of usefulness. There is no automatic pilot for being human.
