Overlooking The Obvious

      I was having a conversation with a man the other day, whose father had recently passed away, about how different the world is today compared to when we were kids. He was having a problem with where to start cleaning up and reluctantly disposing of a man’s life left behind. Being of the same age, growing up in the 50’s and 60’s, we remembered how our dad’s never disposed of anything. Even if something was worthless, it was cleaned up and shelved, because it had the potential to supply replacement parts, or bits and pieces to repair something else. All that stuff kept and protected for so long has become totally worthless in today’s mechanical world. If one were to break down any sort of gadget today, he might get it fixed and operating again, but getting it back together and useable is a whole other problem. It’s cheaper and less frustrating to simply throw it in the trash and buy a new one. The replacement will, more likely as not, be cheaper and have more features to do more things, faster and more accurately, anyway. It’s a throw-away world and I still see the potential in everything I hesitate to throw in the trash. Some day I’m going to need that.

      Just when we think things couldn’t get any worse, we’re being informed that a cyber attack on the US, and the world, could make any mechanical war of the past look like a sandbox squabble. The computer age and our dependency on the computer to regulate and operate vital life sustaining systems, has opened the door to malicious destructive programming directed to render operating computers useless, or to run out of control into a mode of self-destruction. Once again I think man has overlooked the obvious in his quest to dominate the world with his power of thinking, Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) once asked, “Did you let your schooling get in the way of learning?” I remember as a child hearing the warning of letting machines run machines, it would be a great downfall some day. I think things are going to get real interesting, real soon.
      The Lone Ranger and Tonto were camping for the night in the desert. After they got their tent set up, both men settled down and fell sound asleep. Some hours later, Tonto wakes the Lone Ranger and says, “Kemo Sabe; look toward sky; what you see?” The Lone Ranger replies, “I see millions of stars.” “What that tell you?” asked Tonto. The Lone Ranger ponders for a moment, and then says, “Astronomically speaking, it tells me there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. Astrologically, it tells me that Saturn is in Leo. Time wise, it appears to be approximately a quarter past three in the morning. Theologically, the Lord is all-powerful and we are small and insignificant. Meteorogically, it appears we will have a beautiful day tomorrow. What does it tell you Tonto?” …“Someone steal tent.”
      [Psalm 33] Man’s thirst for knowledge and understanding has him seeking in places that only open doors to greater wonders. Bigger telescopes are being used in an attempt to find the edges of the universe and space probes are being distributed to discover life beyond earth. God has instilled in the hearts of men the want to, to investigate and discover and learn, but man misuses it. Instead of wanting to know the greatness of God, man is trying to discover the limitations of God. In His wonderful sense of humor, God is willing to entertain those who will not accept that this was all made for man alone. We seem to always overlook the obvious. The glory of God is everywhere.