We live in a data driven world. We are collecting and recording more data than we ever have in all of history thanks to technology. Data is a very power tool when used correctly. It can be very helpful, and can help you personally or your business to improve greatly. Now, there are some common misuses uses of data like stealing a person's identity, or tracking people without their true consent. While I think that is sinful, that is not what I want to focus on today.
Despite the amount of data we have today, data has always been around and gathered in different ways. There is an example in the Bible in 2 Samuel 24, and also recorded in 1 Chronicles 21 about David taking a census to gather data on how big his army was. The result was that this census was a sin that David admitted to after it had been committed, but it does not describe what exactly the sin is. There are 2 common theories, both of which are pitfalls for us to watch out for today.
The 1st Theory is that David was filled with pride and he wanted to feed even more into that pride by boasting great numbers for his army. "look at me, and how powerful my kingdom is!" We don't really know if this is right, but I think this the most likely theory as this seems to have happened towards the end of David's reign and my perception was the fighting was slowing down as Solomon takes over for a peaceful reign. When data is used to point at how great "we" are, that is a case when data leads to sin.
The 2nd theory is that David wanted to know how big his Army was to determine what he was capable of doing with it. Based on what I said above about the 1st theory, this seems less likely in this particular scenario. However, I think this type of sinful use of data is a bigger problem for us today. We need to understand that data is amoral, just as guns, or money is amoral. It is neither good nor bad, it is how it is used by the individual or business that determines if it is righteous or sinful.
Let's play with theory #2 a bit, but lets put David into the present culture. He wants to know how many troops he has so he can make an informed decision about a military move he is considering making. No one for a second would think there is anything wrong with this approach today, in fact it would be expected that the census be taken along with many other data points.
This is how we operate in normal life today. So much so that for David NOT to gather the data would be considered sinful to our culture. He would be labeled a reckless leader, irresponsible, and not fit to hold the position of king if he didn't gather and analyze the data. So, if we so blindly go down the path of data analysis without a second thought for every decision we make, is it possible that the use of our data is sinful and we don't even realize it? What would God be upset about, and what are we not considering today as use data to make almost every decision?
It's easy to see where God would have a problem with running a completely data driven life if we look at other stories in the Bible. There are so many stories I can't even begin to scratch the surface of them in this blog, but lets take a look at a few of them real quick. Noah. The data did not support putting effort into building an Ark. Good thing he didn't listen to the data. When Israelites were first going to enter the promised land, the spy's went and gathered data about the land and the military forces their. The data showed that the land was great, but the people were too strong for the Israelites to defeat. It just didn't look good on paper (or maybe a stone tablet). So they didn't go in when they should have. To bad, they listened to the data... When the Israelites went into the promised land a generation later, they marched around Jericho 1 time per day for 6 days, and then 7 times on the 7th day, and the walls came down and captured the city! This was not a "data driven" military decision!
So, what is the message here? Well, I think the message is, if we are not careful data becomes a false idol. It replaces God's leading in our lives, and limits what we can do. It takes away our faith that God can do anything despite the circumstances or the data. It leads us to believe that we are all knowing with the data that we have. Our culture has lifted data to a position it should not be in. Data might be all the atheist has to lean on for guidance, but lets not let that limit Christian leadership and decision making. Let's put data in its rightful spot!
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