Short-Circuiting the Soul

J. Robert Oppenheimer, the physicist who directed the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos, where the United States’ first nuclear weapon was developed, said this about his life shortly before he died: “I am a complete failure.” In looking back on his achievements, he said they were meaningless. When asked about them, he replied, “They leave on the tongue only the taste of ashes.”

That sounds a lot like Solomon, who said, “For in much wisdom is much grief, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow” (Ecclesiastes 1:18).

We celebrate our dramatic advances in science and technology, which have been breathtaking to say the least. I am interested in technology. I love keeping up with the things that are happening and hearing about the latest gadgets, the latest things that make our lives a little bit easier. It is fascinating to me.

But as Tom Brokaw said in a 1999 graduation speech at the College of Santa Fe in New Mexico, “It is not enough to wire the world if you short-circuit the soul. Technology without heart is not enough.”

We live in a technologically advanced age. Our telecommunications are global now. We truly have become a global village. Yet there is a sense of isolation and detachment, and all this technology almost seems to numb the soul a little bit more. It is the pursuit of knowledge without God.

If intellectualism alone were the major key to purpose and fulfillment, then our university and college campuses would be bastions of peace and purpose. The pursuit of knowledge and a good education is a noble and valuable thing. But if in that pursuit God is left out, then you will come to the same conclusion as Solomon.