But, despite all the awe-inspiring things we’ve made, the effects of the Curse taint all technology—there is no perfect technology. The past few weeks we’ve been looking at nine truths of technology and this blog brings us to number three—there is no perfect technology. Hammers still give us blisters; computers fail; rovers get stuck. Since technology is made by sinful humans beings living in a sin-cursed world, fighting the Curse, it’s no surprise that there’s no such thing as perfect technology.
Humans have a tendency to want things to be perfect. Read reviews of any product out there and you’ll quickly see people can always find flaws with the latest-and-greatest of anything; “The picture quality is great, but the screen is dim,” “cancels out the noise but the sound quality is just meh,” and so on. But we won’t find perfection in this sin-cursed world!
When God created the world, it was perfect (Genesis 1:31). God isn’t like a human designer—His works are perfect (Deuteronomy 32:4). But mankind rebelled against God and broke His perfect creation (Genesis 2:17; 3:17-19). Now the world is just a shadow of the perfection and beauty it once was. But Jesus Christ, the God-man, came into the world and lived a perfect life (2 Corinthians 5:21). He fulfilled God’s righteous demands and took our penalty for sin, death, upon Himself. He then rose from the grave, defeating death, and now offers free and eternal life to all who will repent and trust in Him (John 3:16; Romans 10:9). Someday He promises we will dwell with Him in the new heavens and new earth where things will be like they were before—perfect (Revelation 21:4; 22:3).
Instead of looking for perfection in this world and from mankind, we need to look to our Savior, Jesus, and the coming kingdom He has promised.
I’d like to acknowledge John Dyer and his book From the Garden to the City: The Redeeming and Corrupting Power of Technology from which I gained the insights for this series on Truths of Technology.