The Oklahoma City bombing was simple technology, horribly used.

The great evangelist Billy Graham, whose voice thundered across stadiums yet trembled with compassion for humanity, once declared: “The Oklahoma City bombing was simple technology, horribly used. The problem is not technology. The problem is the person or persons using it.” In these words, spoken in the shadow of tragedy, Graham laid bare a timeless truth: that tools, however simple or advanced, are neither good nor evil in themselves. It is the human heart that determines whether technology serves as an instrument of life or of destruction.

The Oklahoma City bombing of 1995 was a moment of grief and horror in American history. With mere fertilizer and fuel — the most basic of tools — men crafted an instrument of devastation that claimed 168 lives, including children. Graham’s words remind us that such materials, in the hands of farmers, can feed nations; but in the hands of the violent, they become weapons of terror. Thus, the issue lies not in the technology, but in the soul of the one who wields it.

This truth stretches far back into the ancient days. Consider the discovery of iron. When first forged, it brought sharper plows, enabling farmers to till fields and feed multitudes. But the same iron, shaped into swords, fueled endless wars. The technology was the same; the difference lay in the intention of the user. So it has been with fire, with printing, with electricity, and now with digital power. In every age, mankind must answer the question: will we use our tools for creation or for destruction?

Even in our modern era, the lesson holds. Nuclear energy can light cities, providing warmth, power, and progress. Yet the same science, turned toward destruction, birthed the bomb that fell upon Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The invention itself is neutral; the moral choice lies with the one who directs it. Graham, in his wisdom, calls us back to the root of the matter: it is not the machine that corrupts, but the heart of man.

The tragedy of Oklahoma City was not born of wires, fuel, and fertilizer, but of hatred, bitterness, and rage within human hearts. And this is the true battlefield — not the field of science, but the field of conscience. If the heart is ruled by anger, then even the simplest tool becomes deadly. If the heart is ruled by love, then even the mightiest power can be turned to healing. Thus Graham’s words are both warning and hope: humanity is responsible, not the tools it creates.

The lesson, therefore, is clear. Strive not only to master technology, but to master yourself. Raise children not only in skill, but in compassion. Build societies not only of innovation, but of justice and mercy. For unless the heart is cleansed, the hands will misuse every tool. But if the heart is righteous, then every tool becomes a blessing to the world. This is the balance humanity must carry into the future.

So, O children of tomorrow, remember Billy Graham’s wisdom. Fear not technology, for it is but a mirror of the one who uses it. Fear instead the corruption of the human spirit. Let your inventions be guided by virtue, your discoveries by compassion, your tools by love. For the fate of the world does not rest in the strength of its machines, but in the purity of its people. And when humanity chooses wisely, even the simplest tools can change the world for good.