Recently I have been looking at buying a new vehicle. Now being a quasi techie, I want to be sure my new ride is up to date when it comes to modern technology. Got to look at run flat tires, central inflation systems, 20 position driver seats, driver/passenger comfort zones, DVD navigation and entertainment system, and then there is the big issue - Safety.
Safety is vital today in modern cars. When shopping you have to look for side impact air bags, second generation two stage deploying air bags that are weight sensitive, air curtains, accordion motor mounts, and all manner of other features. Honestly though, my real concern is how the CD player sounds and how many speakers the car has where I can disturb my quiet neighborhood with a eclectic mix of Christian speed metal, 80's music, bluegrass and Celtic tunes as I commute back and forth every day. That brings us to the central topic of this post - satellite tracking / safety and satellite radio systems.
For those few that have missed the fear inducing radio ad’s, OnStar is a service that is standard on all GM cars, and can be added to most other cars. It is a monthly subscription service that automatically sends out a warning signal if the air bag deploys, allows your vehicle to be tracked if stolen, allows OnStar operators to unlock your car remotely if you lock your keys / children/ pets/ or anything else inside, and numerous other features that we will not go into here. XM radio is a satellite radio system that allows you to receive commercial free CD quality music anywhere on the surface of the earth. It too is subscription based, and provides channels that are specific to your taste - news, sports, country, Christian, metal, Mongolian ethic, etc. Both of these services are designed to both provide us with a combination of pleasure and security as we whirl through our hectic days of toil and stress.
If you are asking yourself why a person really needs such things, then you are asking the same question I am asking myself currently. Sure if I crash my car I want EMS there ASAP, but with everyone above the age of 12 with a cell phone now how likely is it that the call from OnStar will be there before the call from Billy Lo Rider or Susie Street Racer. Sure if my car is stolen I want it found, but I have also found if I drive a old beater then no one will steal my car anyway, even if I leave it unlocked and leave the keys in it. Since the first day I drove a car I have always kept a spare key in my wallet where I can unlock my car no matter the circumstance. In a way it is like buying life insurance, you buy it but you hope you never use it. It is really sold to the customer with a basis of fear and terror behind the pitch.
Now on to XM (or Sirius - XM’s competitor I am not trying to only discuss one brand here), do I really HAVE to perfectly hear the new Third Day song while climbing a hill in the remote backwoods of Montana in my SUV? And, if I do, why not just buy the CD and bring it with me? That way I can play the songs I like - no disrespect guys but every album has at least one tune that could have been left off without anyone missing it - and play the ones I really like over and over. For the average monthly cost of XM I could buy one CD every month, and never be without the tunes I love. Anyway, as anyone with a high speed Internet connection will tell you can find any tune you want online for free if you know where to look and have the lack of moral fiber to steal. In addition, what am I suppose to do if I am away from my car and at the gym (XM does not make a walkman sized receiver that I am aware of). If I have three receivers (one in my car, one in my home, and one portable one (assuming they exist)), I would need three monthly subscriptions, that price of the CD is looking really cheap now.
Honestly, I am not trying to run down any of the above mentioned services, and they all do have benefits. But, when we look at things, almost everything has some benefit, so the real question is does the benefit outweigh the cost. At the heart of my query, I am just asking why we do we have to have such things? If we want them, we can afford them, and no one is being hurt then have at it people. Sign up, tune in, and motor around in pleasure and ease, but at some point you have to ask yourself why we spend so much time and money worrying about things that really bring us minimal or limited pleasure / benefit at their best.
My point is simply we go through life acquiring many “things” that are of limited benefit and maximum cost, while ignoring the one thing that is of maximum benefit and no cost - a relationship with God.
I do not need a monthly subscription for God to know where I am, or for me to hear from Him. God follows every minute of every day of every year of my life. If I crash my life, He does not need a call from anyone, He already knows. I do not have to have a special receiver to hear from Him, and I do not need to check to be sure coverage of my local stations are available in my area.
We get so caught up in worrying about a satellite’s triangulated position across our horizon that we forget the one that created the heavens and earth. We forget the very one that sent His Son to dwell among us just to show us that He cared. God really does care, I know this because every time I go to Him He is there waiting to listen. Never a wait time, never a peek calling time, and never a new operator that is not familiar with the system. He does not ask me to call Him at off peak hours, or wait for the next song to see if it is better. God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. God is there, waiting, watching, and wanting to interact with each of us.
His love is available to all, regardless of the weather, atmospheric conditions, monetary status or geographic location. God loves us all. He wants to interact with you, and He wants a two way relationship. He does not want to only be called when you are in trouble, or only called when you need a special request, God wants to be involved in each decision, each moment and each relationship. He wants to guide you on the right road, away from broken paths, destroyed lives, and devastated relationships. He interacts with us by listening to our hopes, desires and dreams via our prayers, and then guiding those same things to the things that are best for us.
He is not just there to intervene when we want Him, He is there to be a constant director and guide of our life. Today is the day to stop relying on earthly technology and human wisdom to guide your life, and turn your life, world and future over to Devine perfection and Godly wisdom. No system bugs, future upgrades, or incompatible components will ever exist after that.Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
Genesis 1:3 And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning--the first day.Genesis 1:6 And God said, "Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water." 7 So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God called the expanse "sky." And there was evening, and there was morning--the second day.
Genesis 1:9 And God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear." And it was so. 10 God called the dry ground "land," and the gathered waters he called "seas." And God saw that it was good.
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Genesis 1:14 And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth." And it was so. 16 God made two great lights--the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning--the fourth day.
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Genesis 1:26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."
Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
OnStar is a registered trademark of OnStar Corp
XM Radio is a registered trademark of XM Satellite Radio
Sirius is a registered trademark of RCA
