When I was a teenager, I read a funny novel about a detective whose techniques were decidedly 20th century, even though he lived in the futuristic world of (I think) the mid-21st century. As with lots of futuristic novels, there were many aspects of the imagined future which were pure conjecture, and some that bore more than a striking resemblance to changes we have already seen or have begun to see. Consider, for example, the touch screen in every home through which virtually every foodstuff could be ordered for home delivery. The book predated internet shopping but anticipated it reasonably well.
Other advances anticipated by the book include the modification of fertilized human eggs. This is now taking place in some limited situations. Admittedly, the book took it further – would-be parents could purchase genetic kits so as to have children made not in their image, but in the image of their desires. We can be grateful that our society has not actually taken that step. Yet. The book carries its own warning about this – the detective’s own younger brother, Keving, was a fine athletic man with an unfortunate and unwanted mutation – two noses. And yet a lot of parents in the book were prepared to take the risk to give their children the best opportunities in life. I see that motivation in people today. Could that be our future?
I particularly mention the book because of one of the other characters. I think her name was Sharong. Like Keving, she was the product of a genetic kit – one that had worked extremely well. The detective really fancied her but knew that nothing would come of it – she was way out of his league; drop-dead gorgeous – the sort of beauty that would make a cartoon character’s eyes pop out on stalks and their heart beat visibly in their chest. Everything about her was, as Craig Revell-Horwood might say, “A May Zing.” Until she opened her mouth to speak, that is. Where one might expect the silky-smooth tones of a Marks and Spencer’s luxury food commercial, what came out was a scratchy foghorn noise that hurt the ears and sent unpleasant shivers up the spine like fingernails scraping on a blackboard. It turns out that all the sweetness of her eye-candy qualities were undermined by the sourness of her voice. The memory of everything that had been so compellingly attractive about her was obliterated with every word she spoke. She was painful to be around.
I was talking to someone recently who was bewailing the fact that no one political party has all the answers to our crises. Rather, they all have some approaches, priorities and policies that are deeply appealing and others, sometimes discovered only later, that turn your stomach and raise your hackles. Like Keving and Sharong – and like us – our politicians are fundamentally flawed and bound to make mistakes. In Proverbs 8:15, we hear the voice of wisdom: “By me kings reign and rulers issue decrees that are just.” This is what we need in God’s world – a return to God’s wisdom, so that our society is governed in a way which is just and righteous and for the flourishing of all. Starmer, Badenoch, Davey and Farage are not our saviours, and though they may get some things wonderfully right, they all get some things catastrophically wrong. Let us pray for them as they make decisions that affect us all and let us live our lives in honour of the one who is the wisdom and the word of God.
May the Lord bless you all.
Image by Piero Di Maria from Pixabay