Lifeless

Part I: the Gospel seen through "do androids dream of electric sheep?" (Blade Runner).

Photo by Daniel Lincoln on Unsplash

Rick Deckard wakes up one morning next to his wife, Iran. They lived in a nearly empty apartment building.

There was silence.

That silence that makes our emotions feel much stronger.

For them, the world was not like the one we know. A great war had destroyed everything. Humanity had migrated to other worlds, and the few humans who remained on the planet were not there by choice.

However, to cope with the “misery” in which these people lived, some, those who could afford it, of course! had a device called the “Penfield mood organ,” with which they could program their emotions.

Rick was a methodical man; every morning his Penfield device was always set to the appropriate emotional configuration to ensure his day started “right.” His wife, however, was not the same. She didn’t enjoy the idea of ​​being programmed beings. For her, life didn’t hold much meaning that way.

Or at least, this began to be the case after some time.

One day, Iran was exposed to a reality that many hadn’t noticed. She was exposed to the feeling of “emptiness.”

But what was that emptiness?

Since the world was virtually uninhabited, if at any point you were unable to program your Penfield device and entered a state of “absence of emotional response,” for a second, you could become aware of the emptiness that existed on the planet.

And one day, she experienced it. She became aware that the world was empty, that the city was empty, even the building they lived in was empty. It was such a profound emptiness that she could even hear the noises the building’s structure made.

To get out of that state, people had to activate a specific setting on their Penfield device; however, while she was doing so, she inadvertently discovered the setting to program depression.

So that morning, by her own choice, that was her emotional state: to feel depressed.

In this scene from the book, Rick and Iran have a whole conversation in which he tries to persuade her to change that programming for a more “friendly” one. Which she refused to do.

Honestly, he didn’t even know there was a way to program the device to feel depression; nor did he understand why she preferred to feel that way, if simply using a different code she could change that feeling.

Then Rick questions her.

For him, it made no sense to feel that way if they could simply program something different.

And this is what I wanted to get to: Iran’s response.

Why did she prefer to feel depressed and hopeless?

When she entered the state of “absence of emotional response” and felt the emptiness for the first time, those minutes before discovering the depression setting on the Penfield device were enough for her to realize something profoundly deep.

The book says:

Iran: — “But then I realized how unhealthy it was, sensing the absence of life, not just in this building but everywhere, and not reacting.”

I’m going to focus on this sentence for today.

I don’t know if you feel the same way I do, but for some reason, that phrase makes me feel really uncomfortable.

And it has nothing to do with the dystopian future presented in the book, nor with the absence of life as such. Rather, it unsettles me to think about the inability to react to it.

Because if we look at it from our reality, it doesn’t really sound so far-fetched to us today.

Yes, in Blade Runner we are presented with the image of a literally empty world, where many people prefer to “block” their emotions in some way rather than face their reality.

And that coldness is something we also see today.

We may not have empty cities, but there are many empty hearts all around us.

And the coldness towards those hearts, unfortunately, is very evident.

Many of us are aware of this emptiness in the lives of many people, but we don’t react. We remain focused on ourselves, on our own lives, on our own worries. And little by little, we’ve grown accustomed to it.

We’ve grown accustomed to living in an empty world. A world where, even though we could do something about it, we prefer not to, because it’s more comfortable, a life like this is easier.

But here’s the thing:

Those of us who are Christians, and who are mature enough to see clearly that something is wrong in the world, that there is a void that cannot be filled, that there is an absence of life that affects many, should not only feel the discomfort of recognizing it, but also the need and conviction to do something about it.

James wrote the following:

“Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.” (James 4:17 NLT)

That’s clear!

If we can see that something is wrong in the world and do nothing about it, we are sinning.

But then, the question is: What can we do about it?

Because if there’s one thing we must be clear about, it’s that only God can fill that void in the hearts of many people.

Our role is simply to help others draw closer to Him, the only source of eternal life. That is our part.

This is what Jesus said to his disciples:

“And then he told them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone. Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned.’” (Mark 16:15-16 NLT)

It’s not just about seeing the emptiness in the world and praying for God to do something about it, but we must also understand that we, as disciples of Christ, have been called to take part in the solution.

We need to share the Good News about Christ with as many people as we can.

I know it’s difficult. I know that many times we can feel incapable or that we don’t have the influence to reach anyone. I know that sometimes we don’t know how to do it, we don’t know what to say or what to write.

Let me tell you this short story about myself:

My sister and brother-in-law used to have a Bible study group at their house. I don’t know why, but we always ended up talking about the same thing: sharing the Gospel.

I usually shared some of my experiences doing it, mainly with college friends or coworkers. And in one of those conversations, after I shared an experience, my brother-in-law said:

“I’m only realizing one thing. Hector, you’re very bad at evangelizing.”

Obviously, it was in a joking tone, although it’s definitely not one of my talents.

And maybe, like me, you feel that you’re not “good” at it.

But in the end, it’s not about whether we’re good or not, or even how we do it; we don’t all have the same gifts or the same opportunities. It’s simply about not remaining indifferent.

It’s about not getting used to seeing a lifeless world and carrying on as if nothing is happening.

D. T. Niles said that telling others about Christ can be compared to one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread.

In other words, it’s simply about sharing what we have received.

It’s about telling others about the One who filled our emptiness. About helping others find that source of life that once found us.

And with this I want to end today.

In the Gospel of John there is a beautiful story that summarizes everything I wanted to share. You can read it in full in chapter 4, but I want to share a fragment with you:

“Jesus replied, ‘If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.’ … ‘Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.’ … ‘Please, sir,’ the woman said, ‘give me this water! Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to get water.’ … The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone, ‘Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?’” (John 4:10,13-15,28-29 NLT)

And maybe that’s all.

The Samaritan woman saw her emptiness, encountered the One who filled it, and understood that others needed Him too. So, she didn’t hesitate; she went and shared Him.

That’s what it’s all about.

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I hope you enjoyed this piece and that it encourages you to share what you’ve received with others.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? has long been one of my favorite books, and it covers incredibly interesting themes that can be related to the Gospel in many ways. So, in the coming weeks, I’ll be exploring some of these themes, using different scenes from the book. Therefore, I apologize in advance if you haven’t read the book and I include any spoilers.

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If this Pensamiento resonated with you or blessed you in any way, I’d love to hear about it in the comments. Also, if you’re going through something and need prayer, please feel free to send me a private message.

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If anything you read blesses you, encourages you, or draws you closer to Jesus, then my work was worthwhile. But if you’d like to support me in continuing to write, you can buy me a coffee. God bless you!