In a March 2023 report, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute predicted that China would overtake the United States as the world’s leading science and technology superpower. Indeed, China has the potential to establish a monopoly in fields such as nanoscale materials and synthetic biology. The big question is, how did China reach this milestone? The straightforward answer is that they worked harder than everyone else. It’s always entertaining to attribute success to luck, race, nation, or social status. If we can explain success as something that anyone can do, we expose our own laziness.
Africans continue to daydream about a future in which they will be able to develop technology that will allow them to be truly self-sufficient. The continent remains backward despite having so many prophecies and visions about a wealthy future. This is clearly the result of not working hard enough to achieve results. Many Africans believe they are inferior to Americans and Chinese. They lack the confidence to experiment with new ideas or think creatively. For example, the Chinese are attempting to develop their own version of ChatGPT. Africans are delighted to license ChatGPT from the Americans.
Africans, like any other race or nation, can set their sights on advanced technologies and begin to make progress. You must understand that spiritual grace requires work. You cannot continue to claim special grace while refusing to put in the effort. In 1 Corinthians 15:10, the apostle Paul explains, “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.” The Chinese work harder than anyone else. Africans must imitate them.
