News Detail
The Dull Axe
Have you ever tried to cut using a dull knife? My mother-in- law has spent most of her life preparing meals with a dull, three-inch paring knife. Whether she’s chopping meat, vegetables, or trying to cut a pie, she instinctively reaches for the same small knife. She’s generous and thoughtful and always has food on the table so there are no complaints from me on that front, but I’ve never understood why she uses that tiny little knife.
The truth contained in a little verse in Ecclesiastes 10:10 sheds some light on this little conundrum, “If the axe is blunt, and one doesn’t sharpen the edge, then he must use more strength; but skill brings success.” I’ll stand by and watch as my mother-in-law will labor over chopping up celery for a salad, having to make every single slice and taking forever to get it done. It’s a labor of love, but she’s skilled. She knows what’s she’s doing, and she doesn’t mind taking the extra time. A sharper knife more suited to the task would make the job significantly faster and easier, but with skill she’s able to produce the same results even if it does take her longer (shrug).
I, on the other hand, cannot use that knife. I prefer a 12-inch chef knife. And if it’s not sharp enough to slice through tomato skin without denting the fruit, then it’s not sharp enough for me.
Where my mother-in-law is content to do what’s necessary to get the job done even with a poorer tool, I am susceptible to infomercials tempting me to buy Ginsu knives that cut through soup cans. I want the newest sharpest knife and the sharpening kit that comes with it.
Technology, whether it’s the latest knife made from hammered, Jerusalem steel, or an iPhone 15, is designed with a purpose – it is not neutral! Behind every technological advancement is someone’s (or a group of someone’s) agenda, often to further empower us to succeed and helping us rely more independently on our own intuition and strength. But the goal of the Christian faith is that we might become lesser and He may become greater.
In Genesis 11, men made bricks (a technological advancement that significantly increased humanities capacity for construction – easier than quarrying rocks) and decided to build a tower. Genesis 11:4 tells us why they were doing it, “Then they said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise, we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.’”
We are capable of tremendous creativity, construction, and advancement. Today, we’ve built countless towers to the heavens, and invented apps that translate languages. But when do we stop and question as Christians whether what these technologies are aiming at are actually helping us develop a deeper and more dependent relationship with God?
If the goal of our technology is more efficiently chopping our celery for a salad, then there’s not likely an issue. But is that really our aim?
Since the beginning of societies, we have attempted to work our way to salvation and the result has always been separation from God. We might be better off, with a duller axe and purer motives. You’ll need to decide for yourself.
Westminster Christian School, located in Palmetto Bay, Florida, is a private, college-preparatory school for children from preschool through twelfth grade.