Embracing Humanity in a Technological World

 

Summary

Today, we explored the intersection of habit formation, spirituality, and technology, emphasizing the importance of maintaining our humanity amidst the rapid advancements in artificial intelligence. While technology, like AI, offers incredible tools for creativity and efficiency, it is crucial to remember that our ultimate source of hope and meaning is found in our relationship with God, not in technological advancements. Technology can enhance our lives, but it can also distract us from what truly matters if not used intentionally.

We delved into the nature of spirit and spirituality, drawing from Dallas Willard's definition of spirit as disembodied personal power. Unlike technology, which operates on circuitry, humans possess a mind, will, and body, allowing us to rejoice, choose, and dream. This distinction underscores the importance of valuing our personhood and ensuring that our habits and technology serve us, not the other way around.

The discussion also touched on the concept of the false self, exacerbated by social media, where curated images of our lives can lead to feelings of detachment and emptiness. The antidote to this is embracing our true selves, acknowledging our imperfections, and fostering genuine connections with others. By sharing our real struggles and vulnerabilities, we can experience the power of God and the love of community.

In conclusion, as we navigate the complexities of technology and habit formation, let us revel in our personhood, thank God for our real selves, and strive to build habits that nurture our spiritual growth and authentic relationships.

Key Takeaways:

- The Role of Technology in Our Lives: Technology is a powerful tool that can enhance our lives, but it should not become our source of hope and meaning. Our relationship with God remains paramount, and we must use technology intentionally to connect with others without letting it distract us from what truly matters. [02:00]

- Understanding Spirit and Personhood: Spirit is defined as disembodied personal power, distinct from the circuitry of computers. Humans possess a mind, will, and body, allowing us to rejoice, choose, and dream. This understanding highlights the importance of valuing our personhood and ensuring that our habits and technology serve us. [03:43]

- The False Self and Social Media: Social media can contribute to the creation of a false self, where curated images of our lives lead to feelings of detachment and emptiness. Embracing our true selves and acknowledging our imperfections is essential for genuine connections and spiritual growth. [09:01]

- Reveling in Our Personhood: We are fearfully and wonderfully made, with a mind, body, and will. By valuing our personhood and allowing habits to serve us, we can navigate the complexities of technology and spirituality while maintaining our humanity. [07:30]

- Authentic Community and Vulnerability: Sharing our real struggles and vulnerabilities with others fosters genuine connections and allows us to experience the power of God and the love of community. By bringing our true selves into the light, we find strength and support at the foot of the cross. [11:00]

Youtube Chapters:

- [00:00] - Welcome
- [00:39] - The Role of Habits in Life Transformation
- [01:06] - Technology and Artificial Intelligence
- [02:00] - Technology's Impact on Spirituality
- [02:54] - Reveling in Personhood
- [03:43] - Understanding Spirit and Personhood
- [05:17] - Using Technology Wisely
- [06:15] - The Temptation of Dopamine
- [07:00] - The Power and Pitfalls of Screens
- [07:30] - Embracing Our Personhood
- [08:31] - The False Self and Social Media
- [09:50] - The True Self and Authenticity
- [10:25] - Sharing Our Real Struggles
- [11:18] - The Power of Community and Love
- [11:47] - Closing Remarks and Invitation

Study Guide

Bible Study Discussion Guide

Bible Reading:
1. Psalm 118:24 - "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."
2. Genesis 1:27 - "So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them."
3. Romans 12:2 - "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind."

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Observation Questions:

1. How does the sermon describe the role of technology in our lives, and what is its potential impact on our spirituality? [02:00]

2. According to the sermon, what is the definition of spirit as given by Dallas Willard, and how does it differ from technology? [03:43]

3. What are some ways the sermon suggests that social media contributes to the creation of a false self? [09:01]

4. How does the sermon encourage us to embrace our true selves and what role does community play in this process? [11:00]

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Interpretation Questions:

1. In what ways does the sermon suggest that technology can both enhance and distract from our spiritual lives? How can this dual nature of technology be managed effectively? [02:14]

2. The sermon mentions the concept of the false self. How does this idea relate to the biblical understanding of being created in God's image? [09:50]

3. How does the sermon interpret the idea of rejoicing in our personhood in light of Psalm 118:24? What does it mean to rejoice as a person? [07:30]

4. What does the sermon imply about the importance of vulnerability and authenticity in building genuine community? How does this relate to the biblical call to love one another? [11:18]

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Application Questions:

1. Reflect on your current use of technology. Are there specific ways it enhances your spiritual life, or are there areas where it distracts you from what truly matters? How can you adjust your habits to ensure technology serves your spiritual growth? [02:14]

2. Consider the concept of the false self as discussed in the sermon. Are there aspects of your life where you feel you are projecting a false image? How can you begin to embrace and share your true self with others? [09:01]

3. The sermon encourages us to rejoice in our personhood. What are some practical ways you can celebrate and thank God for your unique identity this week? [07:30]

4. Think about a time when you shared a personal struggle with someone. How did that experience impact your relationship with them and your spiritual journey? How can you foster more of these authentic connections in your community? [11:00]

5. Identify one habit in your life that you feel is not serving your personhood or spiritual growth. What steps can you take to change or replace this habit with one that nurtures your relationship with God and others? [08:15]

6. How can you intentionally use technology to build and maintain genuine connections with others, rather than allowing it to create a false sense of community? [02:14]

7. Reflect on Romans 12:2. In what ways can you renew your mind to resist conforming to the patterns of this world, especially in the context of technology and social media?

Devotional

Day 1: Technology as a Tool, Not a Master
Technology offers incredible tools for creativity and efficiency, but it is crucial to remember that our ultimate source of hope and meaning is found in our relationship with God, not in technological advancements. While technology can enhance our lives, it can also distract us from what truly matters if not used intentionally. We must use technology to connect with others and enrich our lives without letting it become a source of distraction or a substitute for genuine relationships. By keeping our focus on God, we can ensure that technology serves us rather than becoming our master. [02:00]

Jeremiah 2:13 (ESV): "For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water."

Reflection: How can you intentionally use technology today to enhance your relationship with God and others, rather than allowing it to distract you from what truly matters?


Day 2: Embracing Our Unique Personhood
Spirit is defined as disembodied personal power, distinct from the circuitry of computers. Humans possess a mind, will, and body, allowing us to rejoice, choose, and dream. This understanding highlights the importance of valuing our personhood and ensuring that our habits and technology serve us. Unlike technology, which operates on circuitry, humans have the capacity for deep thought, emotion, and creativity. By recognizing and embracing our unique personhood, we can navigate the complexities of technology and spirituality while maintaining our humanity. [03:43]

Psalm 139:14 (ESV): "I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well."

Reflection: In what ways can you celebrate and honor your unique personhood today, ensuring that your habits and use of technology serve your spiritual growth?


Day 3: The Danger of the False Self
Social media can contribute to the creation of a false self, where curated images of our lives lead to feelings of detachment and emptiness. Embracing our true selves and acknowledging our imperfections is essential for genuine connections and spiritual growth. By sharing our real struggles and vulnerabilities, we can experience the power of God and the love of community. It is important to resist the temptation to present a curated version of ourselves and instead embrace authenticity in our relationships. [09:01]

Galatians 6:3-4 (ESV): "For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor."

Reflection: Reflect on your social media presence. Are there areas where you are tempted to present a false self? How can you embrace authenticity in your interactions today?


Day 4: Reveling in Our Personhood
We are fearfully and wonderfully made, with a mind, body, and will. By valuing our personhood and allowing habits to serve us, we can navigate the complexities of technology and spirituality while maintaining our humanity. It is important to recognize the unique gifts and abilities that God has given us and to use them to serve others and glorify Him. By doing so, we can find fulfillment and purpose in our lives. [07:30]

1 Corinthians 12:4-6 (ESV): "Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone."

Reflection: What unique gifts and abilities has God given you? How can you use them today to serve others and glorify Him?


Day 5: The Power of Authentic Community
Sharing our real struggles and vulnerabilities with others fosters genuine connections and allows us to experience the power of God and the love of community. By bringing our true selves into the light, we find strength and support at the foot of the cross. Authentic community is built on honesty, vulnerability, and mutual support. It is through these genuine connections that we can experience the transformative power of God's love and grace. [11:00]

Hebrews 10:24-25 (ESV): "And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near."

Reflection: Who in your life can you reach out to today to share your real struggles and vulnerabilities? How can you foster genuine connections and experience the power of authentic community?

Quotes


Technology is ubiquitous it has been woven into the framework of our lives and we can't get away from it it changes the way that we communicate the way that we work even the way that we worship but we want to remember as Christians that are ultimate source of Hope and meaning is not found in technology it's found in our relationship with God technology can bring comfort and convenience and connection but it can also distract us from the things that really matter so we want to be quite intentional about using it to connect with each other but not allowing it to distract us. [00:01:49]

Spirit is disembodied personal power uh it's disembodied in the sense that it's not like gravity or mechanical it's not a physical form of power it is power but it's not like them it's not simply an impersonal Force it's personal power and now that raises the question what is a person very simple definition again from Dallas a person you are a will with a mind in a body you are embodied but you have a mind what is a mind well mine is not circuitry computers have circuitry computers do not have mine computers can what they compute and so they're able to generate increasingly remarkable and uh uh predictive and creative content they can respond in a conversation they do not have a mind. [00:03:36]

We have a mind and then we have a will you are able to choose you can dream you can desire you you are you have agency and the computer does not have these things so a computer is not spiritual because spirituality is disembodied personal power so now we're free to use technology well and that's always been the case I was reading this last week about how Paul and character in The Bible Aquila both were in the same trade they were both tent makers and they met each other that's how their relationship started and the Greek word for trade uh is is where our word for technology comes from so people have been able to produce things that impact Our Lives. [00:04:58]

We have transformed the world from a place of scarcity to a place of overwhelming abundance drugs food news gambling shopping gaming texting sexting Facebooking Instagraming youtubing tweeting the increasing numbers variety and potency of Highly rewarding stimuli today is staggering the smartphone is the modern day hypodermic needle delivering digital dopamine 24 7 for a wired generation if you haven't met your drug of choice yet it's coming soon to a website near you so think for a moment about screens thank God for them like that's why we're able how we're able to communicate right now to be able to connect to be prompted to learn that's a great thing but they're actually created an awful lot of sites with the intention of being addicted and that little chime you get when your phone goes off it turns us into Pavlov's dogs if we're not careful about it. [00:06:21]

Persons are above all other creatures Above the Rest of creation fearfully and wonderfully made because you have a mind and it resides in a body it is Thoroughly embodied and you have a will so you have moral agency you can choose computers cannot do that now will a human being beings be able to create something that is personal someday I don't know uh seems unlikely to me but for sure we're not there at this point and being clear on what is a person and valuing your personhood allowing habits as you cultivate them to serve your personhood rather than the other way around allowing technology to serve personhood for technology like Sabbath was made for human beings and not the other way around. [00:07:34]

Social media has contributed to the problem of the false self by making it far easier for us and even encouraging us to curate narratives of Our Lives that are far from reality when our lived experience diverges from our projective projected images here's pictures how great I'm doing in my job my vacation uh wonderful meals and delicious restaurants with beautiful people we are prone to feel detached and unreal as fake as the false images we've created psychiatrists call this feeling depersonalization it's a terrifying feeling which commonly contributes to thoughts of suicide and the only antidote to the false self is the true self the actual self the real self see a computer cannot suffer from depersonalization because it's not a person you are a person. [00:08:55]

Today Revel in your personhood thank God for your body and get it up off the couch moving around a little bit thank God for your real self for my real self and for a community where we can bring our real broken inadequate messed up often failing unable actual selves to each other and be loved for who we are not for our curated persons today tell a real person somebody else one real area in your life where you're struggling I am so apt to pretend yep I know that person talk with somebody who's at a church where I used to be and they know a lot of people there and I'll just feel like yeah I gotta present myself as a caring person so I must pretend like I know everybody even though I don't have any idea. [00:09:54]

Today tell a real person some real part about your real self and thank God for the real you and ask God's help for the real you because it's only when we bring our real broken selves into the light into the Fellowship of the withered hand that we find the power of God and we meet each other at the foot of the cross the field of love because love is habit for me. [00:10:56]

Technology is ubiquitous it has been woven into the framework of our lives and we can't get away from it it changes the way that we communicate the way that we work even the way that we worship but we want to remember as Christians that are ultimate source of Hope and meaning is not found in technology it's found in our relationship with God technology can bring comfort and convenience and connection but it can also distract us from the things that really matter so we want to be quite intentional about using it to connect with each other but not allowing it to distract us. [00:01:49]

Spirit is disembodied personal power uh it's disembodied in the sense that it's not like gravity or mechanical it's not a physical form of power it is power but it's not like them it's not simply an impersonal Force it's personal power and now that raises the question what is a person very simple definition again from Dallas a person you are a will with a mind in a body you are embodied but you have a mind what is a mind well mine is not circuitry computers have circuitry computers do not have mine computers can what they compute and so they're able to generate increasingly remarkable and uh uh predictive and creative content they can respond in a conversation they do not have a mind. [00:03:36]

We have a mind and then we have a will you are able to choose you can dream you can desire you you are you have agency and the computer does not have these things so a computer is not spiritual because spirituality is disembodied personal power so now we're free to use technology well and that's always been the case I was reading this last week about how Paul and character in The Bible Aquila both were in the same trade they were both tent makers and they met each other that's how their relationship started and the Greek word for trade uh is is where our word for technology comes from so people have been able to produce things that impact Our Lives. [00:04:58]

We have transformed the world from a place of scarcity to a place of overwhelming abundance drugs food news gambling shopping gaming texting sexting Facebooking Instagraming youtubing tweeting the increasing numbers variety and potency of Highly rewarding stimuli today is staggering the smartphone is the modern day hypodermic needle delivering digital dopamine 24 7 for a wired generation if you haven't met your drug of choice yet it's coming soon to a website near you so think for a moment about screens thank God for them like that's why we're able how we're able to communicate right now to be able to connect to be prompted to learn that's a great thing but they're actually created an awful lot of sites with the intention of being addicted and that little chime you get when your phone goes off it turns us into Pavlov's dogs if we're not careful about it. [00:06:21]

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Transcript
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