When I first read about the iPhone 4S I was filled with fear and apprehension. I didn’t like the idea of an artificial intelligence resting comfortably in my pocket. Visions of Skynet and HAL-9000 ran through my mind as I planned how to outsmart Siri and her ability to learn and adapt.
My fears were best summed up in this picture I created for a post about the iPhone 4S.
That was all before I had an iPhone 4S, though, and couldn’t experience the wonders of Siri for myself.
On Tuesday night at youth group my phone took a dive while we were playing a game and the screen cracked. I was able to upgrade my phone and 22 hours after ordering it, my new iPhone 4S arrived. Now that I have it all set up and safely secure in its Otterbox case, my attitude has changed.
Instead of visions of the apocalypse, my attitude is now best summed up in this picture.
It’s amazing how quickly my reservations and fears about a product melt away as soon as that product is in my possession. Perhaps I was just using irrational fears to cover up some deeper emotions like envy, covetousness and greed.
And since they’re so ugly those emotions aren’t that difficult to want to cover up.
God doesn’t want us to cover up our ugly sides, though. He loves us in spite of the ugliness in our lives and he wants us to be open about it. God doesn’t want us to flaunt our sin and ugliness in some shameful display, but he wants us to be honest about our brokenness so we can trust in him to redeem it.
If I had simply ignored the shattered glass on my old phone, like it hadn’t even been broken, then I wouldn’t have been compelled to get a new one. When we aren’t willing to acknowledge our own brokenness and the ugly areas of our lives, then we won’t be compelled to change.
When we do acknowledge our brokenness, though, we’re not alone in changing our lives. God wants us to grow and change, he wants us to see our ugliness. Because when we do, when we’re honest about our sin, then he can begin to work within us, from the inside out. His Holy Spirit will empower us to live differently and be more the people we were created to be.
Since Armageddon most likely won’t result from the iPhone 4S, we probably have some time left to live. And what better way to spend that time than by acknowledging our brokenness and allowing God to help us redeem and grow beyond it?
What helps you acknowledge your own sin and brokenness?
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