Is Text-Messaging Evil?

Back in June of this year I attended a campmeeting in Mayfield, Kentucky. On Friday during the day service there was a preacher from South Carolina who preached a message entitled, "The Tragedy of Technology." He was preaching about the downfall of modern technology in the church and how so many people have shipwrecked their lives as a result of the evil that's displayed on the internet. He was mentioning about some of the technological gadgets we use in modern day society and how we've become addicted to them. This past Monday on Labor Day I attended a church picnic in South Union, Kentucky and I was talking to a young preacher friend that I know. We were discussing some of the modern forms of technology today and one of the subjects we were discussing was text-messaging.

I've heard some preachers express dismay over many of our young people sending numerous text messages a day. They wonder what are they discussing when text-messaging. I will admit many of our young people today don't need to have a cell phone in their possession simply because many of them use a cell phone as a toy. I believe if a teenager is going to possess a cell phone, there needs to be a specific use for it. In reverting back to what I was discussing, some people have a tendency to blame our young people's addiction to cell phones or whatever the case might be on the technology themselves. The reason why so many people use technology such as the internet, text-messaging, MySpace and Facebook for evil is because of impure hearts. The biggest problem is what's in the heart of man.

Jeremiah 17:9 says, "The heart is deceitful above all things; and desperately wicked, who can know it." That's the crux of the problem. I do recognize there are elements of danger when it comes to modern day technology such as the internet, for example. With modern day technology, evil becomes easily accessible at one's fingertips. Instead of having to leave the confines of your house to go to a bookstore to find pornography, a person can stay in their own home and with a few clicks of a mouse can log on to a porno site and view pornographic material. Also a person can communicate much quicker by means of email than just sending a letter to someone by mail. Evil can travel more extensively by means of modern technology. However, instead of texting, you can take a pen and a piece of paper and inflict as much damage that way as through the electronic means of texting. The only difference is texting is a modern-day form of communication whereas a pen and paper is the old-fashioned method of communication.

When I was in school there was no such thing as cell phones. When students wanted to secretly communicate with one another while the teacher was trying to instruct the students, they would write a note on a piece of paper and distribute it to their classmates. Today students text one another by way of cell phone. However, both methods can be just as wicked if the student who sends the message has a wicked heart. I do know that a person can communicate evil more quickly through modern technology such as email than just through a piece of paper with writing on it. But both methods of communication are just as evil if the person behind sending the message expresses evil thoughts.

The Bible also says that "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." People speak wicked thoughts because their hearts are evil. It's not the technology itself that's evil--it's the heart. Technology can be a wonderful thing. However, instead of using technology for educational purposes as well as propagating the gospel, we've used it for evil. The filth that stems from the internet for example, has captivated the hearts and minds of Americans. The way technology's used reveals the heart of man. With technology the evil comes with the good. I do recognize there needs to be regulations on the use of technology because of wicked people. However, technology in and of itself isn't evil. The problem is when technology is used as a toy instead of a tool. We use modern-day technology to entertain people instead of using it to inform people as well as to preach the gospel to them.

Whether it be by means of texting or just using pen and paper, both methods of communication are representative of the thoughts of a person's heart and mind. It's just as evil for a student to scribble evil thoughts on a piece of paper and distribute it to someone as it is to send a wicked text-message. I've heard preachers over the years preach against television, the internet, and text-messaging. I understand their reasoning behind it. However, I believe if a person's heart is pure and upright, they could spend hours texting good and wholesome thoughts to someone as well as a person with a wicked heart could spend hours texting evil things to someone. I believe that applies to both young and old. It's what's in the heart. The problem is not the technological gadgets--it's the people behind them whose hearts are impure.