Give Me the Simple Life?

This past week, Peggy Noonan made a big splash on the internet with this article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123992073614326997.html She predicts that the economic situation in the US may lead us to a more simple life.

Some Christians seem to think that a simple life; i.e. less technology and fewer machines is a morally superior life.

For me, the simple life has to do with finances. It means getting out of debt as much as possible. Currently, I have no car payment and two credit cards. Both cards have either no balance or a low balance and we use them for the benefits they provide. One pays a cash rebate and the two together keep you credit score up.

I do not equate the simple life with a low-technology life. While it is true that one can become a slave to technology, technology allows you to take a time-consuming, menial task and turn it into a low-stress, easy job. For example: the dishwasher. Before I got married I had no dishwasher. I either ate off paper plates or I spent hours--literal hours each week washing dishes. What a waste of time and effort that is! Now, my wife and I have a dishwasher. This device sanitizes the dishes, getting them cleaner than they would be if washed by hand, it uses less water than hand-washing, and it turns a 1.5 hour chore into a 12 minute breeze. If the "simple life" means I give up my dishwasher, forget it. I'll take technology!

And that example reminds me of this theological truth. Man, made in the image of God, is supposed to be creative, as God is. He is to take possession of his world, harness it, and rule over it. When men use scientific knowledge to create technological devices that make life easier and make work more efficient, they are following God's example in creation and obeying his command to take dominion over the earth and subdue it. When I use my electronic devices and when I drive my automobile, I feel that I am doing God's will. To deliberately give them up in order to return to some supposed superior way of life that is actually less productive would be sin. I'm glad I live in modern times. Having experienced them, I would not choose to go back in time if I could help it.