I’m finding myself a bit irritated by all the self-service “conveniences” in commerce these days. In the travel industry, it seems no one wants to help us anymore. At airline and rental car counters, we’re directed to self-service kiosks. At grocery stores and the like, “self checkout” is encouraged. Oh, the employees stand there and assure us they’re available to help “if you need it,” but the unspoken message is, “You’re a big dummy if you do.”
Does all this really make our lives easier? By the time you figure out how to use the technology, you could have already moved on had a trained employee ushered you through in the traditional manner – and you might have engaged in some human-to-human interaction, so increasingly rare in today’s digital world. Comedian Larry the Cable Guy says when his family goes through the self checkout at Wal-Mart, they wind up standing there for 20 minutes, randomly pushing buttons and looking like retards. I can identify.
I wonder if there’s something more than the pursuit of convenience behind this trend. Self-reliance and individualism are classic manifestations of man’s sinful nature. I can do it myself. I don’t need anyone’s help. Buying fishing lures at Wal-Mart through a machine is certainly not the cause of society’s ills. But when the “I don’t need help” mentality extends to God, that’s when trouble arises. Always has, always will.
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