I remember a guest speaker we had come to our church when I was in Jr. High...I guess that would have been around 1982. He told us how the government was spying on us through our television sets and how a cashless society was just around the corner. This cashless society would, of course, usher in the anti-Christ. I don't remember all the details, I just remember it was interesting and scary at the same time.So yesterday we were at Sonic for ice cream. They have their 'new' debit/credit card machines so you can pay directly from your car instead of having the car hop take your card inside. Handy for me except that they are not set up to add a tip. I always tip, but now I can't add the tip to my debit card and I don't carry cash. Fortunately, Brooke had a dollar in her purse so we tipped (something like 25% since all we bought was ice cream!).
But the incident at Sonic made me think back to this guy I heard in Jr. High. I guess I am rushing toward that world he was talking about...I hardly ever carry cash. I pay for everything with my debit card. I rarely write checks...if the place takes a debit card, that's what I use. And then tonight, I read this article Let Your Fingers Do The Paying about how companies like Wal-Mart and Costco are looking into bio-metric payment methods. They scan your fingerprint along with your checking, debit and credit card info. When you check out, they scan your fingerprint and then let you choose which method you wish to pay with (hoping you'll choose checking and save them money). In Jr. High, I would have told you this was a tool of the anti-Christ. As I read the article, I was thinking it might be handy. Which is it?
I know a number of people, including my parents, who will not shop online, who do not use debit cards and certainly would not use any form of biometric payment. Are they just technophobes or have I slowly been lulled into a system that ultimately has a bigger plan for me? If there were no cash, it would certainly be easier to implement a 'mark of the beast' system. But then, a fingerprint scanner at Wal-Mart and other places could also help reduce identity theft. But then again, if we all used cash, would identity theft be the problem it is today?
I guess all of this has made me go "Hmmmmm". I'm really not living in fear, but I think it is obvious that the anti-Christ will use the technology of his day. I'm certainly comfortable with the increasingly cashless society in which I live, but biometric scanning, chip impants to track/keep kids safe, GPS tracking on cell phones and my every move be it financial or on the Internet being followed/recorded is becoming more interesting and scary at the same time. What do you think?
So anybody got a chapter and verse...is it true that the devil doesn't carry cash?
- Rob
2 comments:
Solomon did tell us there was a time for everything under the sun didn't he?
I think of people who are often hesitant to use technology and I think of those who in our history who had some of the concerns (no one wanted to ride in a motorized buggy, turn on lights, speak into a box or even use overhead projectors to put songs on the church walls!)
I guess for some of us who aren't afraid to risk we will go for almost anything. For others who tend to be more cautious they get in, eventually. For all of us we need to remember that our God is still creating.
Does the devil carry cash? I don't think he needs it (Luke 4:5-7)
I knew if anybody could come up with chapter and verse, you could, Steve!
I started to go into the whole use of technology by the church issue, but it was sorta a rabbit trail from what I was talking about. Sometime I'll have to tell you about my conversation with a heathen friend (he would call himself heathen) who asked me, "Would Jesus carry a cell phone?"
But now I'm concerned 'cause your verse would tend to say "No, the devil doesn't carry cash." Hmmm...but Jesus didn't appear to either, did he? (Matt. 17:27)
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