If there has been one man's death that has made the headlines this year more than any other it will be the passing of Steve Jobs, Apple's founder and techno-guru to millions around the world. There's no doubt he has had a massive influence on the world today, but some of the tributes would probably leave him a little embarrassed. A statue of him has already appeared in Budapest, Hungary, holding an iphone. Shrines appeared in Apple shops throughout the world, with photos of him that make him look like almost Christ-like. Actually, even before Jobs died it was possible to view Apple as a substitute religion, with Apple shops laid out like temples for the worshippers to meet in, electronic devices laid out like Bibles, and a picture of the founder displayed prominently like a cathedral's great east window.
In keeping with this quasi-religious atmosphere, his devotees also hang on his every word, with his business acumen running alongside a savvy wisdom for life that makes people sit up and listen. Take three examples. First, “Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish” was his message to students at Stanford University in 2005 and it is not a bad slogan for life if you take it the way he (and the people he borrowed it from) meant it. We are all prone to losing our edge because we become self-satisfied, so that we lose the desire to push on and lose the hunger for greater success. Or we become frightened of those who think that our schemes are a bit too madcap, so we rein in the creativity that pushed us forward when younger and only go with anything that seems sensible and safe. The New Testament commends those who hunger and thirst for righteousness and applauds those who are fools for Christ, so taking Jobs' motto is no problem, even though he probably didn't mean it in that sense. Why not use it for 2012? Stay Hungry! Stay Foolish!
His drive to succeed was reflected in another motto that he is credited with (and once again, I am not sure that he didn't borrow this, or part of it, as he did with so many of his ideas that made Apple the giant it became): “Those who are crazy enough to believe they can change the world are the ones who do.” I like that. He certainly believed it and put it into practice. His combination of excellence in design and slick technology have made the computer and communications world what it is today. But in the end he was only talking about the sort of equipment I am writing on now (I confess I am a PC user who looks rather longingly at the Apple world); he was not dealing in life or death. The Christian message, by contrast is the real revolution, dealing as it does with reconciling men and women to God, bringing true peace and reconciliation with God, cleansing the conscience and bringing eternal hope. That is something that has changed the world, is still doing so in many nations and has the power to do so once again here. What it needs is people crazy enough (there it is again – stay foolish!) to believe it is God's message for the world and to take his word seriously enough to follow it. Jobs inspired people to do so for a clever screen; is eternal life enough for you?
And thirdly, many will also have taken on board his words about death, since it was at Stanford that he first spoke of his cancer. Jobs used his impending death as the spur to even greater creativity, realising that he had to follow what he wanted because he simply didn't have the time to be side-tracked by anyone else's agenda. It certainly drove him to unparalleled success, but it is deeply saddening that his view on death was that it was nothing more than “the single best invention of Life … it is Life's change agent” designed to clear the old out and make way for the new. This whole philosophy was built, as it is for the vast majority, on the idea that “death is the destination we all share. No has ever escaped it” which is true up to a point. Death has been the fate for every human being who has walked the planet, and there is no doubt that this should spur us all to greater service. However One Man, Jesus, has escaped it, not by avoiding it, but by submitting to it and then defeating it, dying and rising from the tomb. That should change everything – this one life we all possess must be lived with God in view, since Jesus demonstrates that we will all answer to God, and we can live it with hope because Jesus has secured the way to God – but unfortunately his picture still isn't in any Apple store I have seen, his wisdom and salvation ignored, while the man whose picture reigns supreme speaks to millions and yet remains firmly in his grave.
In keeping with this quasi-religious atmosphere, his devotees also hang on his every word, with his business acumen running alongside a savvy wisdom for life that makes people sit up and listen. Take three examples. First, “Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish” was his message to students at Stanford University in 2005 and it is not a bad slogan for life if you take it the way he (and the people he borrowed it from) meant it. We are all prone to losing our edge because we become self-satisfied, so that we lose the desire to push on and lose the hunger for greater success. Or we become frightened of those who think that our schemes are a bit too madcap, so we rein in the creativity that pushed us forward when younger and only go with anything that seems sensible and safe. The New Testament commends those who hunger and thirst for righteousness and applauds those who are fools for Christ, so taking Jobs' motto is no problem, even though he probably didn't mean it in that sense. Why not use it for 2012? Stay Hungry! Stay Foolish!
His drive to succeed was reflected in another motto that he is credited with (and once again, I am not sure that he didn't borrow this, or part of it, as he did with so many of his ideas that made Apple the giant it became): “Those who are crazy enough to believe they can change the world are the ones who do.” I like that. He certainly believed it and put it into practice. His combination of excellence in design and slick technology have made the computer and communications world what it is today. But in the end he was only talking about the sort of equipment I am writing on now (I confess I am a PC user who looks rather longingly at the Apple world); he was not dealing in life or death. The Christian message, by contrast is the real revolution, dealing as it does with reconciling men and women to God, bringing true peace and reconciliation with God, cleansing the conscience and bringing eternal hope. That is something that has changed the world, is still doing so in many nations and has the power to do so once again here. What it needs is people crazy enough (there it is again – stay foolish!) to believe it is God's message for the world and to take his word seriously enough to follow it. Jobs inspired people to do so for a clever screen; is eternal life enough for you?
And thirdly, many will also have taken on board his words about death, since it was at Stanford that he first spoke of his cancer. Jobs used his impending death as the spur to even greater creativity, realising that he had to follow what he wanted because he simply didn't have the time to be side-tracked by anyone else's agenda. It certainly drove him to unparalleled success, but it is deeply saddening that his view on death was that it was nothing more than “the single best invention of Life … it is Life's change agent” designed to clear the old out and make way for the new. This whole philosophy was built, as it is for the vast majority, on the idea that “death is the destination we all share. No has ever escaped it” which is true up to a point. Death has been the fate for every human being who has walked the planet, and there is no doubt that this should spur us all to greater service. However One Man, Jesus, has escaped it, not by avoiding it, but by submitting to it and then defeating it, dying and rising from the tomb. That should change everything – this one life we all possess must be lived with God in view, since Jesus demonstrates that we will all answer to God, and we can live it with hope because Jesus has secured the way to God – but unfortunately his picture still isn't in any Apple store I have seen, his wisdom and salvation ignored, while the man whose picture reigns supreme speaks to millions and yet remains firmly in his grave.
0 comments:
Post a Comment