What the Internet, the Tree of Knowledge and Fish Have in Common

The Internet only became publicly available in the 1990s. Is it good, bad or neutral? Is there a subtle problem with it that Christians need to beware of?

I had an early background in data processing but did not touch computers for over 20 years. I finally got a desktop computer six years ago. In the past, computers related primarily to work. They were not used for entertainment, correspondence or the myriad other applications common today. Most people were glad to walk away from them at the end of the day.

In his excellent book The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains, author Nicholas Carr describes the impact of computers and relates his own irresistible attachment process. Even after studying the subject extensively in others, the author was not able to prevent himself from experiencing the same magnetic pull.

My life before and after the Internet

As a Christian, my first-order-of-the-day priority and desire is to connect with God through prayer and study. Of course, countless things come up that can derail the best of intentions. Most of them can be postponed, but each one invokes a separate decision.

A curious thing happened after the home computer entered my life. I became increasingly aware that first thing in the morning, I was drawn to turn on the computer before doing anything else. I might be eager for a response to an email I’d sent out, curious about the weather report or something on the news I’d been following, or just plain curious.

A new battle of conscious choice emerged every day about which to do first—pray or turn on the machine? My mind felt like a trout on a hook, slowly but forcibly being reeled in! And once I started on it, most of the time I stayed too long!

What did this remind me of?

Good and evil

The Internet is full of good and evil, and it can make us “wise” in either direction. This is not unlike the temptation of the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden, which appealed to both the eyes and the mind’s desire for knowledge. Messages from friends and family are great! We can see pictures, read funny stories, study wise sayings (even biblical ones), watch videos, etc. Many of these are good, but they take up our time, which once spent is spent forever. Is that good?

The Internet can very quickly become an idol!

Fighting back like salmon!

I recently watched a movie with the nonalluring title Salmon Fishing in the Yemen. At first glance, I thought it was a documentary; but when I pondered the desertlike climate of Yemen, I was intrigued. What did this mean?

The film, far-fetched in its concept, is a British romantic drama that turned out to be quite interesting. The plot focused on a Yemenite sheikh who, having come to cherish the pleasures of salmon fishing at his Scottish estate, wanted to introduce his fellow countrymen to the peace and reflective qualities of the sport. Money being no object, the sheikh hired engineers and everything necessary to make the aquifer-fed engineering marvel happen.

When it came time to stock the operation, eco-friendly protestors prevented the sheikh from importing wild salmon, so he settled for airlifting thousands of farmed salmon instead.

There was a question, when the farmed fish were released, as to whether they would know to swim upstream or not, an act vital for their survival. In fact they are programmed to do so, but at first they seemed confused, getting caught in the current and going the wrong direction. But then they turned around!

What was not known was that angry locals, who regarded the project as an encroachment of Western civilization, had prepared to sabotage the dam upstream from the salmon farm. This they did, devastating everything. All that was left of the broad river was a narrow stream.

Crestfallen, the engineers and the sheikh watched for any signs of life. And then cheers exploded as one salmon arched gracefully out of the water, pointing toward the headwaters. (For the curious, a new plan was laid to rebuild, this time involving the local people.)

Fighting the good fight

Whatever river we are caught in—whether the Internet or some bad habit—we must turn around and swim against the current. The sabotage, the dam breaking and the deluge symbolize to me what we can expect in our daily fight as Christians. The Bible describes Christianity as a “good fight” (1 Timothy 6:12).

We need to be like salmon—and not like trout on hooks—to resist the flow of temptations.

When it comes to the Internet, I keep in mind Psalm 119:37: “Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things [worthless by comparison], and revive me in Your way.”

Thinking about that helps me make sure I get to my Bible as fast as possible, first!

For more insight into overcoming problems in your life, read our blog “Habitual Sin: How to Overcome.”