In the 1960s, computers were promoted as the change we need to improve our lives. IBM’s 1911 slogan, “Think”, reminded people they could control their future. IBM shared that we must “think and take everything into consideration” to live our best lives. Everything included whatever it took to improve the world through knowledge. At the same time, the Beatles were singing “All You Need is Love”, as the Western world told us all we need is a car, a house, a new TV, all the modern home appliances and so on. In the background, as the world suggested we can solve our problems independently, Billy Graham reminded the world of God’s message from the beginning of our existence: “All you need is God”.
Remember twenty-five ago, when much of the world panicked because of the Y2K/Millennium Bug (see NOTE below)? A seemingly insignificant computer code was expected to fail, causing computers to stop working. In the true fashion of media, worst-case scenarios were endlessly being played out on TV and in the newspapers. We were told that the computers that run our banking system would not work correctly, resulting in economic woes for many. The shutdown of automated logistics systems associated with our food chains would result in food shortages. Traffic would come to a standstill because of inoperable traffic control systems, and aeroplanes would fall out of the sky. Some positive news was shared in the months leading up to the New Year. However, people still stocked their Y2K cupboards (a polite pantry name for hoarded goods) in anticipation of the economy’s collapse. Interestingly, unlike the COVID-19 toilet paper panic in 2000, there weren’t similar incidents because some people had been stockpiling months in advance, and some believed the world would end at Midnight 2000.
The world did not end at midnight, and life went on. However, we entered the 21st century believing we were in control of our destinies and capable of changing our future, and yet we have fallen even lower as a moral world.
Be who or what you want to be, including changing your gender and species dominated our culture in 2024. Mental health and social issues grew as people struggled to be in control of their lives. But, as we enter 2025, remember we were created in the image of God with a purpose for existence. We were made to live in harmony with God, the world around us, our planet, and ourselves as the image God created us to be. Know that the world offers us fleeting pleasure and quick fixes but has done little, if anything, to improve or enhance the love of our neighbour. Before the clock strikes midnight this year, know that Jesus has always been and will always be, and He wants to be our guide to a full life—a life where we can face the temptations and troubles of this world head-on and with hope, peace, joy and love.
Happy New Year
NOTE The Y2K or Millennial BUG – when complex computer programming was first written in the 1960s, engineers used a two-digit code for the year, leaving out the “10”. As 2000 approached,