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- Death has a way of ascribing sainthood to people who have
either been “good” souls or accomplished great feats in life. Steve Jobs
passing will be no exception. Without doubt, the world has lost an iconic
innovator and visionary, one whom President Obama was moved to say exemplified
“the spirit of American ingenuity.” He made geeky technology cool, inspired
creativity and cult-like admiration, and will likely be remembered in the
category of genius reserved for the Einsteins and Edisons of the world.
When all is said and done, however, the death of
Steve Jobs should serve to remind us yet again of a very profound truth:
Powerful men remain just that — men. Indeed, in these oft-perilous times,
perhaps no one was better able than Jobs to serve up a more poignant and
timely reminder that powerful men are still no less vulnerable to the ravages
of common human maladies like cancer, which, for now, remains an equal
opportunity oppressor without regard for one’s social status, intellect or
financial net worth. And yes,
ultimately, all men die. Ultimately, all of us will be called into account for
the lives we have led. And, ultimately, all of us, the imperfect creatures that
we are, will leave a mixed legacy.
In a glowing tribute to Jobs, John Sculley, a former chief executive of Apple, said,
"Steve Jobs was intensely passionate at making an
important difference in the lives of his fellow humans while he was on this
planet. He never was into money or measured his life through owning stuff. The
world knows Steve Jobs as the brilliant genius who transformed technology into
magic. A part of Steve still lives within all of us through his beautifully
designed products and his no-compromises media experiences. Steve Jobs captured
our imagination with his creativity. His legacy is far more than being the
greatest CEO ever. A world leader is dead, but the lessons his leadership
taught us live on."
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In stark contrast to the public persona, the private Steve
Jobs is still something of an enigma. And, undoubtedly, he wanted it
that way. To say that he will be better understood in death – even to
his children - is, likely, not an understatement either. Just a few
weeks before his death, Jobs revealed to his biographer, Pulitzer Prize
nominee and former Time editor, Walter Isaacson, his motivation for
authorizing it. "I wasn't always there for them, and I wanted them to
know why and to understand what I did," Jobs reportedly told Isaacson in
their final interview at Jobs’ Palo Alto, California, home. And so, the
world awaits the details of what exactly he meant.
In the
meantime, however, one of the
best insights on Steve Jobs, the man, has arguably
come through a now-widely distributed commencement address that he gave at Stanford University in
2005. Reuters’ columnist
Jack Shafer predicts that the address will likely soon spawn
several incarnations everywhere of "The Eternal Wisdom of Steve Jobs." But that aside, Jobs told three stories
about his life to highlight the philosophy and belief system that shaped and
guided his life. It is the first story that is, perhaps, the most compelling.
It is the story of the circumstances surrounding his birth to an unwed graduate
student, who ultimately gave him up for adoption, and
the justifications that led him to become a college drop-out, who seemingly
learned more by becoming a "floater" around campus than in the
required classes, in which he had no interest.
Inadvertent
though it may have been, what a powerful endorsement of the pro-life
belief that abortion is never the best solution for an unplanned or
unwanted pregnancy! Clearly, there is much to be said for bringing a
baby to full term and giving it up for adoption. Literally, there are
millions of couples anxiously waiting on obscure lists for the privilege
of becoming parents. And, in light of the overwhelming scientific
evidence now before us, who are we, really, to determine which life
generated at conception is worthy - or not – of being brought to term?
The truth is glaringly evident when one contemplates the iconic figures
across different disciplines that received the gift of life and were
subsequently adopted. John Lennon, Nelson Mandela, Babe Ruth, Jamie
Foxx, Nancy Reagan, Bill Clinton, Jack Nicholson, J. R. R. Tolkien, Tim
McGraw, Faith Hill, Dave Thomas, Sara McLachlan, D.M.C. McDaniels (Run
DMC), Jesse Jackson, Newt Gingrich and, yes, Steve Jobs were all
adopted. And the world would, indeed, be a poorer place without their
invaluable contributions!
"You
can't connect all the dots looking forward," Jobs declared as the moral of this first story. "You can
only connect the dots looking back... You have to trust in something - your
gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever.... Believing the dots will connect down the
road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even if it leads you
off the well-worn path. And that will make all the difference..."
Certainly, we can glean pearls of genuine wisdom from this simple, yet
profound, statement. In fact, those close to me have heard me say this very
thing countless times. However, I have always clarified that that
"Something" connecting all the dots is GOD. He is the ultimate
Connector of all the dots in the trajectory of our lives. And one can only hope
Jobs came to identify more definitively that "Something" in the final
stages of his life, that “Something” to whom he, most assuredly, will have to
give an account for the moral choices he made in life.
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On the evening
following Jobs’ death, news anchor Antonio Mora from WFOR-TV, CBS Channel 04 in
South Florida, said in his closing remarks for the evening newscast that, when Jobs knocks at the
pearly gates of Heaven and is asked why he should be given admittance, all he
will have to say is, "Because I left the world a better place."
Seriously? Well, what’s the problem with that, you may ask? Well, frankly,
because it isn’t the truth! And I must admit feeling deeply uncomfortable
hearing it. Indeed, it provided a moving reminder of how much work still needs
to be done in this world from an evangelical perspective to uproot the deep-seated, pervasive lie that we get to
Heaven through our good deeds and works.
But more importantly, whose idea
of “good” – or truth - will we be judged by? If it is the God of
the Bible, Steve Jobs may - or may not
- be facing a little, er, heat. And,
thankfully, I am not here to offer commentary on or be the judge of that. Jobs
was a self-identified Buddhist (Fortune describes him as a "Buddhist and a vegetarian") and his Wikipedia article says the same. But there is other information pointing towards the fact that he had also been baptized and instructed in the
Christian faith. Whether or not
you believe in this Judeo-Christian God matters little, really, to the truth of
His existence. He is. And He has much to say on such
issues as worshipping other gods, spreading the gospel, homosexuality and
same-sex marriage, which clearly run counter to Steve Jobs’ seemingly
ambivalent personal philosophy and the corporate culture he was ultimately
responsible for implementing at Apple.
Indeed, Apple
has become a formidable and staunch supporter of LGBT rights and causes in all its
manifestations. Who can forget their $100,000 donation to fight against Proposition 8 and the stated will of the majority California voters to preserve the
definition of marriage as between one man, one woman? More recently, Apple maintained similar form, appeasing LGBT activists, by blocking
from their App Store a previously approved Christian app, the
Manhattan Declaration, which aimed to educate and inform people on Christian
doctrine and the importance of preserving traditional values on marriage and
sexuality. In fact, until LGBT activists raised staunch objections to it, Apple had previously given the app a 4 plus
rating for “no objectionable content.” In the end, all appeals, even to Jobs personally, to
allow reason – and free speech - to prevail fell on deaf ears. Big Brother
censorship at Apple
seemingly guarantees that freedom of religion also means freedom from any religion with which they are not in
agreement.
Six weeks before his passing, Jobs also personally appointed his gay Chief Operating Officer, Timothy Cook,
as the new Apple
CEO. As
such, Cook will steer the stock market’s #1 company further into the 21st
century as the most powerful gay person in the world! Undoubtedly, he’s
qualified. But it would be entirely disingenuous to even suggest that Cook’s personal
philosophy and lifestyle will not also affect decision-making and policy driving such companies as ABC, Disney and Pixar animations, in which Apple is a major stakeholder. A little more
“Dancing with the Freaky,” anyone? So much also for the orchestrated lie, which
attempts to portray homosexuals as social outcasts or victims of the kind of discrimination, which
requires extraordinary court-mandated civil protections to remedy. |
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When all is said
and done, one thing remains clear. Steve
Jobs was a man God blessed with many gifts to impart incredible communication
tools that we could hardly have even dreamed of thirty, or even twenty, years
ago. How we each use those tools now is, ultimately, something for which Jobs
can hardly be held responsible. And, yes, the passing of what, by any
standards, is a great man, may not be the time for hashing out all the issues,
especially as his family and the world still grieves. But
can we just maintain perspective, you think?
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RELATED ARTICLE: Steve Jobs remembered for his stance against porn on iPhone Lifesite news, By Christine Dhanagom, October 06, 2011
As the world mourns the loss of a successful entrepreneur and technological visionary, pro-family advocates have two other, and seemingly contradictory, reasons to remember Apple CEO Steve Jobs: his uncompromising stance against pornography, and his company’s stance in favor of gay “marriage.” Jobs has elicited praise and criticism from both ends of the ideological spectrum for his involvement in controversial social issues. Supporters of traditional marriage were dismayed by his company’s public opposition to Proposition 8, an amendment to the California state constitution that defined marriage as a union between one man and one woman. Apple famously donated $100,000 to the anti-Proposition 8 campaign. The company has also repeatedly rejected the pro-life, pro-family Manhattan Declaration iPhone app, bowing to pressure from homosexual activists. Those same activists, however, were in for a surprise if they thought Jobs would allow Apple products to be infiltrated with the worst that the homosexual sub-culture has to offer. Last year, his company rejected “Gay New York: 101 Can’t-Miss Places,” an app created by freelance travel writer Anthony Grant. Grant, who writes for Forbes and The New York Times, called the decision “homophobic and discriminatory to the point of hostile.” Apples’ rejection of the app, which was based on its inclusion of graphic sexual pictures, is part of a principled stance against pornography, for which Jobs has become famous. . .
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