Three things that AI should remind and encourage us to do
There’s absolutely no place to hide. You can try shutting your eyes, putting your fingers in your ears while singing, “la-la-la-la,”. but there’s no escape. The endless, overwhelming tsunami about Artificial Intelligence just keeps rolling on. And on. While I won’t bore you with the Google search engine stats for AI, let’s just say that they are massive and beyond anything anyone’s ever seen.
No matter what you think or feel about technology in general, or AI specifically, there is one thing that we should take from all this AI excitement. All the information. All the contradictions. All the changes. All the confusion. And while the pundits can’t seem to agree, or even stop for a breadth, there is a great life lesson that God wants us to take from AI.
But the source of AI’s spiritual insights might take you off guard. If we look at the life of Abram, we’ll see a man and family that was not following The Lord. They had a long tradition of serving other gods (see Joshua 24:2).
And then the unimaginable – The Lord speaks to Abram (see Genesis 12:1-3). But why? What great thing had Abram done? Who was he kind to? How much did he give to his temple or local charity? The short answer is nothing. Other than being an idol worshiper, there was nothing but complete and total silence from Abram when it came to God.
God suddenly interrupts Abram and commands him to get up right now and leave everyone and everything he’s known all his life. His land. His relatives. His father’s house. No more knowing exactly where everything was. Where everyone lived. As a kid, I’m sure that Abram had to behave or someone would tattle-tale on him to his dad. God speaks to Abram and tells him to give up all the certainty and comforts of being familiar with where he was.
But what’s on the other side of God’s offer? Surely Abram was going to make out like a bandit. Wasn’t he? We’d expect a life-long, all-expenses paid trip to a penthouse suite facing the ocean with hot and cold running servants. Not to mention a big up-front bonus and no-cut clause in his contract.
The only details given by God were fuzzy as best because the words “I will” came in front of them all. God’s promises were all somewhere in the future. Somewhere down the line. Somewhere over the rainbow. But the best possible news about the future is that those promises were based on who God is. Since they were His promises, He was the one responsible for delivering them.
You have got to give credit to Abram. He gets up and leaves like the Lord said. At seventy-five, He walks away from his daily and familiar life and into the unknown. He went to Shechem and the Lord appeared to him (see Genesis 12:4-7).
This leads us to the next part of Abrams’ life that speaks to us about AI. It’s not a lot of words or ideas, but boy is it important and practical.
He (Abram) moved on from there to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent between Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. He built an altar there and prayed to God.
Genesis 12:8 MSG
God speaks loudly and clearly to Abram, and Abram responds. He acts. And in his actions, we find three very important and powerful principals about life with God. Life here on Earth. And life in response to everything that’s happening with AI.
Pitched
Abram takes the next step in his journey with the Lord. And even though this isn’t the end of the road, Abram still pitched his tent. For the time that he and his group were going to be there, it’s going to be their home. And you’ll never get that homey feeling without putting down stakes and pitching your tent.
I know that this world is not our home. We’re not of this world, but we’re still in it. Jesus has sent us into it (see John 17:16-26). And like Abram, we need to pitch our tent. While there are many benefits for us when we pitch our tent, we need to think outside the box. Think outside ourselves.
When you’ve pitched your tent, you have a home base to go out from and into the world. Then, after it’s beaten you up, your pitched tent is where you can retreat back to. But you’ve got to pitch your tent first.
This is our first step with AI. We have to first pitch our tent. To have a firm and unmovable foundation that will hold us steady through the violent winds and rushing waters. That’s why pitching our tent is so vitally important.
I can predict with 100% accuracy and certainty what’s going to happen with AI. Answer, everything’s going to change. So, like the old hymn, “when all around my soul gives way, He then is all my hope and stay”.
Once you’ve committed to pitch your tent, the next big step is where.
Positioned
The position of Abram’s tent wasn’t an accident. Bethel was on the west and Ai was to the east. Think about that for a minute – Ai was to the east. Each day starts in the east. That’s where the sun rises. And when the Evening Star appears in the east, it marks the end of the day.
While we really can’t do anything about all the AI communication, commentary, and changing capabilities, we can purpose to put AI to our east. To let it remind us of who God is and all He’s done. To start and end each day in worship and praise. To let the Lord speak to us and motivate us into action throughout the day.
This is exactly what the Magi did. They lived each and every day with purpose until that one fateful moment when they saw His star in the east. And why did they disrupt their lives? Why was so important that they’d leave everyone and everything behind? Because the thought of worshiping Jesus was just so overwhelming that they risked their futures, their fortunes, everything (see Matthew 2:2).
They saw some kind of stary light in the east and immediately headed west. They didn’t just point at the star and say, “Gee, that’s interesting. Let’s just sit here and passively watch it. We need to learn as much as we can before starting a pilot program. Someone should Google it and see what everyone says.” No, they saw His star in the east and headed west.
But why go to all this trouble? Couldn’t they just FedEx their gifts overnight? Wouldn’t a Zoom call be just as effective? They leveraged the star into action. The Maji came for the exact same reason Abram stopped with AI to the east. Now comes the biggest and most important thing that Abram did.
Prayed
Instead of flipping out because Abram was in a new and really strange place, he builds an alter to worship and prays to the God who interrupted his life. The God who spoke to him. The God who sent him on his way.
There’s only one way to go after your fears and idols in this life. And that’s to worship yourself out of them. Worship yourself through them. No amount of positive thinking, mind-clearing meditation, or detox cleansing will be able to shift you and your thinking. Real change only comes through real worship.
How do I know this? Just look at Abram. What’s the very first thing he does after pitching his tent with AI to the east? He builds an altar. The altar came before prayer. Before talking with God, we absolutely need to worship Him. That’s totally in line with the first words in the Lord’s Prayer (see Matthew 6:9).
Hard Truth
The simple and hard truth is that we worship who or what we fear. This is why God continually tells us to fear Him and only Him (see Luke 12:5). If you’ve been scared to the point of fear by AI, then it’s an idol. You’re worshiping it within your spirit. You’re probably not burning incense or offering a sacrifice to AI, but it’s become an idol that you’ve given your heart to.
So, how can we remain relevant within our industry and up to date with AI? By living with AI to the east. Not to move into AI but staying outside. Here’s an example of what happens when we move inside AI.
While AI was not around in the time of Lot, he did the very same things we’ve been talking about. He saw nothing but blue skies ahead. The entire land and future were bright. It was green and fruitful. It looked just like the Lord’s garden. At first, he moved in next to it (see Genesis 13:10,12). But eventually, Lot moved inside the city and was taken prisoner by raiding kings (see Genesis 14:12).
The choice is right there in front of you. Are you going to be taken captive by the alure and potential promises of AI? Or are you going to fall more and more in love with the God who made you? Who loves you. Who died for you. Who promises to be with you now and always.
So, go pitch your tent with AI to the east. Remembering that the eternal God is your refuge, and His everlasting arms are under you (see Deuteronomy 33:27).
Chet Gladkowski spent his professional career in the insurance technology arena to help people. Now, Chet uses his memorable and unique communication skills, coupled with digital media, to approach the pain, issues, and heartache that people face today. Since we can’t fix or heal ourselves, we must look at someone else. And that someone else is found in a relationship with Jesus Christ as the answer to our greatest need.
Chet’s upcoming book, ServeLife® – How Serving Unlocks Your Purpose walks you through how your life and purpose are just like a stack of pancakes./
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