I have noted elsewhere that governments are not wholly trustworthy to consider your welfare. All the more so when you seek to place Christ on the throne of your heart and life. Most governments tend to see that as competition for your loyalty. It's not hard to find writers on the Internet today warning that governments prefer you to believe, "The State is god." By State we mean here "that institution to which we often refer when we use the term 'the government;' the system and apparatus of rule over a nation, or a people living in a defined place." The State is merely a human institution, and cannot claim our true allegiance (Acts 5:29).
While this cannot excuse a wholesale rejection of any authority displeasing to us, it establishes the principle that God is first in all things. It is impossible such convictions should not bring us into conflict with the State sooner or later. Such is the nature of any entity that seeks to rule mankind. Indeed, there are plenty of outfits seeking to control some aspect of human behavior which, in that sense, are a sort of government. That is, they perform a governing function over a significant portion of the human race. Any such entity is inherently anti-Christian in the sense that it attempts to limit how God can use you in His service. This is not so much a conscious decision as a complete lack of concern for what God has said.
We must acknowledge there are times the Believer cannot fight those attempts to rule. Often Our Lord has in times past called His servants to march joyfully to their doom. However, I have not read in Scripture anywhere that I am counseled to avoid freedom when it is within reach. Indeed, quite the opposite (1 Corinthians 7:21). The concept of liberty includes having options, and being available to God means giving Him all the options in your life. If you ignore options open to you, then you are participating in placing limits on what God can do in your life. Restrictions are a form of bondage, and bondage to anything but Christ is bondage to Satan (Matthew 12:30).
While ignorance of options can serve to diminish our guilt before the Lord, we still miss out on the joy and glory of freedom. If you avoid learning about such freedoms, you are requesting, as the famous poem says, "Three Dollars Worth of God, Please." Negligence in serving is as sinful as diligence in doing wrong, and a whole lot easier. Further, there is no human activity beneath Our Lord's notice (Colossians 3:23-24).
There are options when it comes to computer use for Christians. One need not use whatever is sold on the shelf at Wal-Mart, or what was installed on the machine when you bought it. Most likely, it is some flavor of Microsoft Windows. I won't join in the chorus of voices that condemn Windows -- I've used XP myself. Still, if you've ever had a computer crash, or suffered a computer virus, or struggled with getting something new to work on your computer, you already have seen that Windows is flawed. Nor will I regale you with how evil Microsoft is, as many have done. The issue at hand is that Bill Gates and company want to control your computer, and what you can do with it.
This is no wild conspiracy theory. These things are documented, and I have chosen three links as samples of what's available on the Internet: The Trusted Computing FAQ, Chomsky on Microsoft, and Microsoft Doesn't Work. The first two are rather long, but well written. The last is a short summary, and is more important for the list of links. I don't wish to draw attention to the privacy concerns, bad as that may be. Rather, there simply is a lust for control over you and your property, as evidenced by Microsoft's corporate behavior.
If your computer is no more than a frivolous toy, then none of this matters. Your service to God won't be impacted much by all this. However, there are many like me, for whom a computer is a major element in their ministry. For those of us making serious use of computers in pursuit of the Lord's work, we are obliged to make the best possible use of it. Barring a few things possible only on a machine running a particular OS, our burden is to insure what we are using is the right choice, God's choice. If you've never prayed about your choices in computing, never asked the Father to guide your choices on His behalf, you have not been faithful.
Here are some options:
That most of these require some degree of learning, or re-learning, is not a good excuse for avoiding the issue. Anything you need to know that you may please the Lord is certainly within your reach. You can be sure He will carry you through the learning process. Besides, simply sticking with Windows will still require you to learn a great deal in order to prevent viruses and other attacks from destroying your work.
It's easy to fall into the extremes in computing. If we seek merely our own comfort, we are serving a different god. That's no better than the zealot who places computers and software before God. A computer is simply a tool, a weapon by which we go forth to conquer the vast land of human hearts, and wrest if from the Enemy. If we seek to use computers in this task without considering whether we have the best options, we can expect limited success. I won't try to play the Holy Spirit for you and tell you Bill Gates and Microsoft are inherently evil, unredeemable, an abomination to God. My aim is that you be free to choose what best enables your service of God. If Windows is the right tool, and you are at peace with that, run with it; but never assume that your choice is right for others. You owe it to your redemption and your fellow Believers to be aware of the differences, and make every effort to reach across the divide. Take that freedom in both hands, and offer it to all you meet.
Break the chains!
Ed Hurst
revised 26 February 2004
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