The Technology That Connects Everything—Where Do Believers Stand?
This is the age of connection. Everything is bound together by lines and links. Information travels effortlessly across the world, and people live in communication that transcends physical distance. Machines replace human hands. Numbers interpret emotions. Code and signals silently record our identities. On the surface, this is progress. We hold in our hands conveniences once unimaginable, and we are thrilled by speeds that seem to defy time and space. But progress does not provide direction. Speed cannot be the goal. The real question is: Where are we headed?
Today’s connectivity is not merely a tool for convenience. It reshapes the structure of life, the mode of thinking, and even the definitions of humanity and ethics. The more everything is bound together, the more individuality fades, and discernment becomes blurred. The word “oneness” no longer refers to the unity of the Spirit, but often to a standardless conformity that dismantles truth.
The Agenda Hidden Behind ‘Connection’
The world has always pursued change in the name of “a better life.” But not every change labeled as progress aligns with God’s will. The history of salvation has never been something humanity could complete on its own. Unity without God leads to pride. Order becomes mere formality. Power turns into idolatry. Today, technology wears the mask of neutrality as it guides humanity. Few ask where this technology is heading—or what kind of person it seeks to shape. A smart era, efficient systems, perfect data integrity—we grow content with the comfort of such words.
But beneath it all lies an invisible design. Technology appears to assist our choices, but in reality, it narrows our options. Diversity is offered, yet our decisions are steered. Thought feels free, but only within permitted boundaries. Technology analyzes human ethics—but not ethics from God. Questions of what is convenient and what is safe are increasingly replacing the question of what is right. This is a subtle substitution. The foundation of life is shifting from God to human instinct and technological judgment. This connection may look like freedom, but in reality, it is a new form of bondage.
Order Without Truth, Peace Without Faith
Today’s trends are leading toward a unified destination. Language is being standardized, currency digitized, and ethics and norms pushed toward global uniformity. This has its benefits—reduced conflict, alleviated poverty, improved understanding among people. But no one is asking: Who is designing this flow, and for what purpose? The order humanity constructs in the name of autonomy and survival increasingly claims it can sustain itself without God. It is an attempt to build a structure of salvation by human hands. But Scripture teaches us that peace without truth is fleeting, and order without God is destined to collapse.
What should believers say in the face of this movement? Mere rejection is no longer enough. We can no longer protect our faith through separation alone. Believers must live within the age, yet live against its current. Our standard is not emotion or opinion, but the Word. God’s Word transcends time. It is the lamp to our feet and the only light capable of exposing the counterfeit lights of the world.
Reconnecting from the Word
We must be connected—but the question is, to what are we connected? The world gives us anonymity and speed, but God calls us by name and waits. The world reduces us to data, but God regards us as unique persons. Connection in God does not erase our differences—it allows for harmony within diversity. Unity in truth is not oppression, but an order where freedom blooms. We must closely observe what today’s order and solidarity are erasing.
God’s order does not force connection. The gospel is open to all nations, yet it always centers on the cross. Today’s systems champion connectivity, but they lack God at the center. That is why order without truth cannot endure. Believers are not those who withdraw—we are sent into the world. But we are also not to live by the world’s terms. We must assess our connections through the lens of the Word and ensure that in every bond we form, God remains at the center.
We are living in a massive flow. But that flow is not neutral. Believers must discern. It is not enough to be connected—what matters is what we are connected to. Our generation moves under one dominant word: connection. But this connection is not aimless—it is a current. And every current eventually reaches a destination. In the midst of this, where should the church stand? What direction should believers look toward?
The Bible pierces the human soul. It sees beyond the outward and into the heart. Since the fall, humanity has always sought to centralize, not scatter. We chose concentration over sharing, uniformity over diversity. But God often disrupted these efforts—because a centralized order without God becomes an idol.
The Church’s Position in a Connected World
Today, the church is not only a community that proclaims the gospel—it is the final line of discernment in this age. If the church chases the spirit of the age, it risks being absorbed into the flow. We must communicate with the times, but we must never imitate them. What must the church hold on to? The Word. Technology in itself is not the problem. But when technology begins to offer its own standards apart from the Word, the church must pause. And ask, and ask again: Is this flow from the Lord?
In John 17, Jesus prayed for His disciples: “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.” The church is not called to flee the world—it is called to preserve the truth within it.
Toward Distinct Connection: Not Separation, But Holiness
“Holiness” is one of the most forgotten virtues of our time. We wear the same things, use the same platforms, and think in the same patterns. Difference becomes threatening. Distinction becomes uncomfortable. Yet holiness is one of the Bible’s core identities. “You are the light of the world.” “You are a holy nation, a royal priesthood.” These are not mere affirmations—they are commands about how we are to exist. Believers do not need to refuse connection—but we must form holy connections. We must be connected not for efficiency, but for the relationships God desires: for worship, for the Word, for love.
The church operates differently from the systems of the world. The world prizes speed, concise data, and linear expansion. The church moves with slow rhythm, deep fellowship, repetition, and reflection. If modern connection values instant access, the church holds to eternal purpose. We do not chase the speed of the age—we endure it, aligning with God’s time. The world connects people—but often without God. There is much information, but little truth; much communication, but withered love. That is why the church must not simply be a connected space, but a community bound by the gospel.
The gospel is not just data to transmit. It is the way one person meets another, the posture of living in truth, and the lens through which we interpret the world. If the church treats the gospel as a system, it is no different from today’s flow. But when the gospel is lived as life, relationship, and obedience—it becomes a holy connection. Paul says in 1 Corinthians, “We are one body with many members.” This is not just a statement of organizational cooperation—it is a declaration of spiritual union in Christ. A community bound not by technology but by the Spirit, guided not by algorithms but by the Word—that is the church.
A Response to the Questions No One Asks
The world moves quickly—but within that speed, we fail to ask the real questions. “Why are we connected?” “Who is this flow for?” Believers must carry these questions in their hearts—and live out the answers. The world is always chasing what’s next, but God does not change. The Word remains our path, our standard, our interpretation. This era’s connections are not neutral. They are moving toward a definite end. The question is, does that end lead to God—or does it erase Him in the name of autonomy, efficiency, and unity?
All these questions converge into one: To what am I connected?
The world defines identity with a line of code. But God calls us by name. The world seeks to integrate everything. But God places purpose in every individual. Within that calling of distinction, believers must live anew in this age of connection. True connection begins in the Word. That Word connects us to God, to one another, and from earth to heaven. We must be built on that Word.
Maeil Scripture Journal | Special Series
