Not if you’re Amish you don’t. Wow that seems rather harsh, but is it? One of the common misconceptions about the Amish is that they’re anti-technology, which is as far from the truth as one can get.
What they are is super pro-community and family. This value is not merely on their doctrinal statement, but it’s something actually applied throughout their daily lives. They believe that anything that will take family members away from each other or from the community is not to be used.
1 Corinthians 10:23 reads, “Everything is permissible for me, but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible for me – but not everything is constructive.” The real issue is not whether or not you should own a bike, a TV, a cell phone, a car, a fill in the blank, but whether or not those things will draw you closer to or away from Jesus?
The Amish believed owning a bicycle would mean that families would live further apart from each other; thus, breaking down the family unit. This piece of technology would then hurt rather than help the family. Thus, after filtering their decision through their beliefs, they applied what came out the other end, which was not to own a bicycle.
Is your belief system a mere acknowledgment of biblical truths or will you actually apply those truths in the real world? Each decision will reveal what you truly believe. Healthy believers will first put biblical truths into their filter and then use that filter when it comes to the choices they make, even those that seem like no brainers.
To have or not have a bike is not the issue. The life changing issue is to use your biblical truth filter to allow the Spirit to transform your life into the image of Jesus.
S“E”t Free Nowww