The buzz is on and I confess, I have a tendency to lust after technology, especially sexy technology. And Steve Jobs’ Apple oozes sexy technology.Today at 1pm EST is an expected announcement of Apple’s updates to the Macbook/Macbook Pro line.
As a converted Mac user after many years of PC use, I have to say that the Mac OS and hardware have really made the computing experience very pleasant for me. The iPod and the iPhone (which I do not own (yet)) have only deepened my affection for the innovative company out of Cupertino, CA.
Lately however, I’ve been wondering how much Kool-aid I have been drinking. This is not a Mac vs. PC issue, it’s the thought that I have so thoroughly immersed myself in consumerism that I don’t know exactly to unravel myself, a la Shane Claiborne. There is that tension between engaging vs. dis-engaging, spending vs. giving, simplifying vs. cluttering, and I’m finding that I’m standing on the wrong side of the fence many a time. So as I watch for the news of the line of Macbooks, I find myself acutely aware of what exactly the hell I am doing.
I live “in tension,” but do I live intentionally? Even as the national economy is sputtering and crumbling (Daniel So provides some resources and reflections on this as well), do I really understand that my propensity to spend money that I cannot see (credit) and the things I spend it on is part and parcel of the problem? Sure, I can objectify it and get angry at the notion that the rich are going to scapegoat the economic woes on minorities, but do I take responsibility in this matter and look at my addiction as characteristic of the rich? I am the rich oppressor. My good friend shared with me at the last election that he has Democratic values, but a Republican lifestyle.
I have Christian values, but do I have a Christian lifestyle? Not just morally, but economically. What does God’s economy look like, and I don’t mean substitutionary atonement or grace, I mean what are God’s economics? What about my plethora of coats or my multiple pairs of shoes? I am simultaneously in admiration of Shane Claiborne and ashamed by him. I don’t mean to beat myself up or to compare my calling to his or to Mother Teresa or whomever, but all that to say is I realize that I have taken the fruit of Apple and I find myself naked and ashamed.
