I interrupt Caveman Economics to post a photo--something I have wanted to do for quite a while. This photo is of some of my keys. As I was looking for a photo that I could post, I saw the keys. Somehow my keys seem to come out well when I photograph them. Looking at the photo, I began to reflect on keys, and what keys mean.
Keys essentially mean responsibility. Think of the keys you encounter in your life--house keys, car keys, work keys, friends’ keys. Each of these keys opens a door somewhere, and gives you the power to enter that door, and bring with you anyone you choose. That power requires great responsibility. Think more specifically of car keys--those keys give you the power to enter and drive a car. Teenagers around the age of fifteen (sometimes even earlier) begin to experience an itch in their fingers for car keys. They want the power to drive. But that power to go from place to place requires responsibility for one’s own life, the lives of other passengers, the vehicle itself, and the lives of other drivers on the road. That’s pretty big responsibility for one key.
The amount of responsibility, and consequently the number of keys, tends to increase proportionally with age. I am reminded of something off of Jeff Foxworthy’s album “Totally Committed.” He says “Whoever's stealing my good sunglasses and my cassette cases is leaving me keys. 'Cause I've got keys. I've got keys to crap I've never owned! You put all my keys together, I could be a high school janitor tonight.” As one grows older, areas of responsibility increase. One buys a car, a house and gets a job as a supervisor. One gets married and has children. Each one of these areas gives you added responsibility and usually keys. I have found the same trend in my life--as I have grown older, I have gained more and more keys. And with that growth in keys has come more responsibility.
My last thought about keys is something that most people may don’t realize--passwords are the same basic concept as keys. Passwords give you access to and power over something. If you think about your password more like it is a key, does that change the way you view it? The most popular password is “password.” No joke. That’s like taping the key to the door handle so that you don’t lose it. Passwords are like keys, and should be treated as well as, if not better than, physical keys.
Think about the keys (and passwords) that you have in your life. What responsibility do they carry?
Keys essentially mean responsibility. Think of the keys you encounter in your life--house keys, car keys, work keys, friends’ keys. Each of these keys opens a door somewhere, and gives you the power to enter that door, and bring with you anyone you choose. That power requires great responsibility. Think more specifically of car keys--those keys give you the power to enter and drive a car. Teenagers around the age of fifteen (sometimes even earlier) begin to experience an itch in their fingers for car keys. They want the power to drive. But that power to go from place to place requires responsibility for one’s own life, the lives of other passengers, the vehicle itself, and the lives of other drivers on the road. That’s pretty big responsibility for one key.
The amount of responsibility, and consequently the number of keys, tends to increase proportionally with age. I am reminded of something off of Jeff Foxworthy’s album “Totally Committed.” He says “Whoever's stealing my good sunglasses and my cassette cases is leaving me keys. 'Cause I've got keys. I've got keys to crap I've never owned! You put all my keys together, I could be a high school janitor tonight.” As one grows older, areas of responsibility increase. One buys a car, a house and gets a job as a supervisor. One gets married and has children. Each one of these areas gives you added responsibility and usually keys. I have found the same trend in my life--as I have grown older, I have gained more and more keys. And with that growth in keys has come more responsibility.
My last thought about keys is something that most people may don’t realize--passwords are the same basic concept as keys. Passwords give you access to and power over something. If you think about your password more like it is a key, does that change the way you view it? The most popular password is “password.” No joke. That’s like taping the key to the door handle so that you don’t lose it. Passwords are like keys, and should be treated as well as, if not better than, physical keys.
Think about the keys (and passwords) that you have in your life. What responsibility do they carry?
An interesting tangent: to see how this concept would apply to Mt 16:19 "...I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven..." and Rev. 1:18 "...I have the keys of Hades and of Death."
ReplyDeleteMom, I was thinking of the Matthew verse while writing the post, but those thoughts didn't make it to the final post. I think I will have to dedicate a future post to your tangent. :-)
ReplyDelete