Wednesday, February 2, 2000
Wednesday, February 2, 2000 |
| Byte
your tongue By
JUDY KILGORE How did you survive the big snow that never came? Did you, like me, purchase two weeks worth of groceries and sock yourself in for the weekend, watching the skies for that first beautiful snowflake? What a disappointment! All we got over in my neck of the woods was a bunch of rain. Some of it froze on the trees Sunday and the most trouble I got was from ice falling off and interrupting the phone lines...well, actually not the phone line...the modem line. It was most annoying, to say the least. I confess. In much of my free time I am an Internet dweller. It still amazes me to have so much information at your fingertips with the click of a mouse. I think I put in about 25 hours of genealogy research last Friday, Saturday and Sunday. (Church was cancelled, by the way.) Rev. Daniel Overdorf, senior minister at the Fayetteville Christian Church, apparently has been having computer problems too. He wrote a thought-provoking article in a recent issue of The Caller, the church's newsletter, called “Slow Computers and Fast Talkers.” I think you will enjoy it. Rev. Overdorf writes: “My home computer had gotten sluggish. It no longer had the same blazing speed as when we first bought it. Okay, maybe it never was blazing, but it had gotten frustratingly slower. The solution? Add memory. Why or how adding memory would solve our problem I didn't know, understand, or even care; but every computer-literate person I'd talked with made this same recommendation. “Thus, Saturday afternoon I journeyed to Office Max, computer manual in hand, to purchase a memory card. I had a $20 bill in my pocket, certain it would be adequate. Imagine my shock when the cashier asked for $80! This memory card is four inches long and one inch wide (I measured!). Twenty dollars per square inch! Sick of fighting with the computer, however, I pulled out the plastic and made the purchase. “What happened when I got home? It worked! Now “blazing speed” barely begins to describe our home computer. Bill Gates would be proud. “Imagine that—something so small having such great value and great power. “Perhaps, though, I shouldn't have been surprised. Consider the power of the tongue. In his New Testament letter, James compares the tongue to a bit in the mouth of a horse, the rudder of a large ship, and a small spark that starts a great fire (3:3-12). Just one small word can make or break a relationship. A few seemingly insignificant syllables rolling from your lips may evoke a smile, a tear, a wink or a scowl. In a brief moment, the tongue can break a heart or make a friend, destruct or construct. What value, what power. “Compliment someone today. make a needed apology. Express your love. Encourage...build...edify...comfort...cheer. Make every word, every syllable count for something good. More powerful than any computer or memory card, your tongue can make a wonderful difference in someone's life. Take advantage of that power today!” Lots to think about there, Rev. Overdorf. Let's all try to say something nice to someone today...and tomorrow and... Until next time...keep the faith.
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