On January 28th, 1986, one of the most tragic and memorable moments in recent American history occurred.
The Space Shuttle Challenger exploded, just 73 seconds into its flight, killing all seven members of the crew.
Millions of Americans watched the tragedy and grieved as a nation.
When investigations were conducted, results showed that the explosion was caused due to the failure of a "toric joint" or "O-ring."
An O-ring is a rubber circular seal, about .28 inches in diameter, that is used to create pressure for the gasses to ignite and power the engine. When the Shuttle launched, the O-rings failed causing the explosion of the shuttle and the deaths of the crew members.
The crazy thing about this whole story to me is that the failure of an o-ring, probably one of the smallest parts of the 268,829 pound craft, caused the entire thing to crash!
One small part, uncontrolled, can cause everything to explode.
So imagine with me for a second, if you were a rocket ship, would there be any o-rings in your life?
Really, there are plenty of small things in our lives that could probably be pointed out, but I'm going to hone in on one specific one.
One of the most potentially devastating yet subtle "O-rings" in our lives today is that of gossip.
Gossip? Really?
Hold on. Let me elaborate.
Gossip is defined as: "casual or unconstrained conversation or reports about other people, typically involving details that are not confirmed as being true."
I'm just going to simplify this and define gossip as: "talking about or discussing information about someone behind their back."
Now, when put in this light, of course it sounds really bad. We would never want to do something like that, right?
However, in everyday conversation, I've found that it's so much more sneaky!
We discuss other people we know the same way we would discuss current events or movies.
When it involves our close friends, we'll often say "we're just concerned for them" as an excuse to tell other people an interesting story and possibly gain more info.
If you're unsure as to what's gossip, think about whether or not they would be encouraged by your comment and if not, it's gossip!
It doesn't matter whether or not it's true.
It doesn't matter whether or not you would tell them to their face.
It's still gossip!
If you're having a hard time with this (like I was a short time ago), it's probably because gossip is an extremely normal part of your conversation.
Although this may be perfectly normal conversation for most people,
IT'S ABSOLUTELY NOT OK!!!
Like the O-rings to the challenger, gossip will cause relationships with family members, friends, and I daresay even with God, to explode!
The reality is that every time we choose to gossip about somebody, we sin against God! The scary part is that for many of us, this may be tens, if not hundreds of times per day!
I know it's not fun, but let me challenge you with something.
Watch your conversations closely over the next 24 hours.
Let every word that comes from your mouth honor both God and Men.
"Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer"
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer"
Psalm 19:14
I was a child when The Challenger exploded. Even though I was young, I remember seeing one of the passengers, a teacher, waving good-bye to her family and students, excited about fulfilling a dream. Shortly after that farewell, the rocket was in the ocean. As you pointed out, a little technical difficulty caused a major tragedy.
ReplyDeleteThe circlar image of the "o-ring" seems fitting for gossip. We think it is just about the person we're telling on, but the circle comes right back to our own inner weakness.
I like your creative way of pulling together a topic like gossip and a small part of a rocket.