Grandpa is a real speedster on his new riding mower

Perhaps you heard about the old fellow who bought his first riding mower when he was 80.

“This thing is fast,” he bragged to his grandson who stopped by for a visit. “I mowed the entire yard in an hour. It takes your grandma all day to get it done with a push mower.”

Technology has certainly taken much of the work out of mowing yards. The zero-turn mowers of today are incredible time-savers.

You know, people back in Old Testament times enjoyed their technological advances, too.

One of the Old Testament kings, Uzziah, benefitted from new technology in his day. You may recall that he was expecting Israel to come under attack by enemies, so he equipped his soldiers with shields, spears, helmets, jackets made of metal, bows and arrows, and slings to cast stones. But he didn’t stop there. Listen to what else he had:

“And he made in Jerusalem engines, invented by cunning men, to be on the towers and upon the bulwarks, to shoot arrows and great stones” (2 Chronicles 26:15).

This technology gave Uzziah’s forces an upper hand against attackers. Commentators suggest the devices were simply catapults or ballista for hurling stones, javelins, or heavy balls.

In my imagination, I can almost hear Uzziah bragging about those machines, how they would allow his army to defeat enemies so much faster. You see, we also learn from 2 Chronicles 26:16 that Uzziah came to feel secure in those things, rather than trusting in God.

To humble Uzziah, God allowed him to develop leprosy, which he had to live with the rest of his life.

People in our day, perhaps especially in our day, can come to trust in technology just like Uzziah did. They trust in home security devices rather than God for their protection. They trust in medical advances rather than God for their health. And they forget that without God, they’re sitting ducks. All of us face trouble when we forget “from whence cometh our help.”

Speaking of that, I expect grandma was mighty thankful for the riding mower that got ol’ grandpa off the couch and out mowing the yard.

I just know she was thankful to God for that.

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Reach Roger Alford at (502) 514-6857 or rogeralford1@gmail.com.