Opinion: Voice activation has a long history

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Technology has come a very long way. Those who are around 60 years of age and above have seen a vast amount of technological advancement. They have seen reel to reel, 45/33 plastic records, eight-track players, cassette players, DVD players, jump drives, Pandora, etc. If life continues, we may see even more advancements.

Practically all of us have at least one device that we can talk to. Voice-activated phones, audio, automobile, etc. How cool is that, to be able to speak into the atmosphere and your command is granted. Voice activation in reality has been around for a very long time. In fact, our parents use it for years. All they had to do was speak it, and we did exactly what they said. This generation doesn't take to voice activation that well. The message seems to get lost somewhere between leaving our mouths and reaching the ears of our children.

This same problem exists in our society. Children react differently to the teachers in the classroom. Too much instructional time is lost trying to manage students who have practiced avoiding the voice instructions of their parents at home. Where did we go wrong? Somewhere between World War II and Woodstock, parents lost their rights to be parents, and now too many of their voices have weakened. What can we do to have that same kind of effect that was demonstrated 40, 50, 60 years ago? There seems to be a lack of fear all across the land.

We are now living in a society that is fearless! They don't fear anything, especially death. Death was once the most feared event in life, but not anymore. We are actively in a pandemic, and people are still walking around without masks and are not practicing social distancing. Please help me understand why. There is one voice that, feared or not, all he has to do is speak, and even nature reacts to what is said by him. He has been around forever and will be here after all of us are long gone. This is what happens when he speaks. "In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light" (Genesis 1:1-3). Now that's what I call voice activation!

I think sometimes we forget that the one who initiated voice activation is still alive and well. He is still in control of the universe, and at any given moment, He can speak and nature doesn't have any choice but to react to exactly what he says. Whether we listen or not, his words will always come true with or without our obedience. "So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it" (Isaiah 55:11). When God speaks, his word must bring a report back to him that it is accomplished.

He is the administrator of the universe; he wrote the original software for life. He can change the verbiage at any time because he holds the patent. When laws are changed, we who live within the jurisdiction must abide by the changes or suffer whatever persecution that has been written into that law.

It's high time for us to listen to the real Chief Justice; Jesus is his name!

In God We Trust.

Sam Livingston is pastor of Antioch Missionary Baptist Church in Manning.