Reading
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God…they are from the world; therefore what they say is from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us, and whoever is not from God does not listen to us. From this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
1 John 4:1-2, 5-6
Reflection
I will be the first to admit that I enjoy the convenience of technology. I got a chuckle out of Pastor Brandon’s interaction with AI over the proofreading of his R&R. Tools themselves are helpful when used appropriately, but when we ask or allow technology to work outside of its reasonable boundaries we risk placing our trust in the wrong things.
One of the benefits of Christian community is that we can help one another discern in a way that technology never can. Artificial Intelligence aggregates human-generated information, recognizes patterns, and then generates approximate answers that mimic human intelligence.
These are useful skills. But there are a lot of things that AI cannot do. It cannot pray. It cannot love. It cannot forgive or repent. In fact, AI faces no real consequences if it gets a response wrong. But we do.
Technology can help us gather and organize information, but it can’t make wise decisions for us. Wisdom comes from lived experience, particularly the shared experience of a community learning to follow God together. That shared experience is something that AI can never have.
As Christians, we have the benefit of more than 2,000 years of shared experience of how to live in community with one another. Through trial and error, Christians have been following the Holy Spirit’s leading as we participate in God’s work in bringing heaven to earth. Technology cannot participate in discerning the will of God.
John reminds the early church, “do not believe every spirit, but test [them]”. Some will be of God and some will be of the world in opposition to God. Artificial intelligence may be man-made, but that doesn’t automatically make it bad; it does mean we need to be cautious with it.
Artificial intelligence, even with its knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, cannot tell us what is true, holy, or faithful. That requires humility, prayer, and the shared counsel of others engaging with the Holy Spirit to discern together.
When you are facing a decision, who in your life can you turn to when you need help discerning? We are so quick to Google an answer or ask ChatGPT what we should do, that we short-change our fellow humans. Over time if we’re not careful, this could erode our ability to trust and rely on each other.
Prayer
Holy and Communal God,
Thank you for revealing yourself in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. By your Spirit, help me to live into the life of my Christian community. Help me to know what is mine to do, and what I should lay aside. Where others need help discerning, let your love speak through me. When I am in need of help, please surround me with those who will share your love and wisdom. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
