Java and Jehovah
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom…for through me your
days will be many, and years will be added to your life.” Proverbs 9:10 says,
Most brand names have
become synonymous to their famous products.
Sometimes we become so used to them in our everyday lives that we forget
they had a start. Sometimes they are
identified with a place, a mission and a purpose. At other times, the item and the name become
one and the same, such as Kleenex or Coke.
Like love and marriage, they go together like a horse and carriage. Whatever the case, it’s always fun to look at
their roots. Let me give you three
starting with the letter “S.”
Sealy Mattress: In 1881,
an inventor from Sealy, Texas, developed a cotton-filled mattress. Word spread around the Southwest, and people
began asking for the “mattress from Sealy.”
Eventually it became known simply as the “Sealy Mattress.”
Samsonite Luggage: Named
after Samson, the biblical strong man.
It symbolizes “strength and durability.”
Starbucks: While it has
become the most popular coffee shop in the world, Howard Schultz, CEO of the
famous chain, got the idea while reading the popular story, Moby Dick. Written by Herman Melville, Mr. Starbuck was
Captain Ahab’s first mate in the story.
He was one of a number of comparatively “normal guys” that stood in
strange contrast to the obsessed character, Ahab. He had a wife and a young child, living
somewhere on Cape Cod.
Schultz mentioned the name was chosen because it evoked the mystique of
the sea (thus the mermaid on the logo) with which the coffee trade has long
been associated. At one point,
Melville had Starbuck saying, “I will have no man in my boat who is not afraid
of a whale.” Melville explained, “By this, he seemed to mean that the most
reliable and useful courage was that which arises from the fair estimation of
the encountered peril…an utterly fearless man is far more dangerous a comrade
than a coward.” Starbuck, as
everyone knows, underestimated his peril and perished at sea.
Much like Mr. Starbuck, the Bible tells the story of another great
sea-faring sailor by the name of Jonah.
It seems that Ol’ Joe had unreasonable courage that led to problems in
his own life. In other words, Jonah
didn’t have a fair estimation of the encountered peril. Come to find out, Jonah’s big fish was the
least of his problems, and Jonah’s big God was the most of it. By God’s own grace, He let the fish take
Jonah down for a deep-sea dive which would ultimately belch him up on the
beach. Jonah soon learned that when God
speaks, it’s better to listen.
Proverbs
9:10 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom…for through me your
days will be many, and years will be added to your life.” God reminds us that a healthy reverence for
God and His ways is the road to life and fulfillment. In Starbuck’s and Jonah’s cases, a fearless
man was more dangerous than a coward.
Fortunately for me and you, our great God is more forgiving
than any great white whale. In some
cases, a little fear can help. Coffee
anyone?
Terry Risser
Reflections:
1)
What does the fear of the Lord mean to you?
2)
How can you revere Him through your words or
life today?
Consider reading the Word today:
Copyright 2014- Terry Risser
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