Get ready for the Zeroes

Before you know it, one small step for our calendars will mean one giant leap for mankind. Three short years from now, it will be the year 2000.

Don't you wonder what we'll call the next decade? We commonly speak about decades as "the Sixties" or "the Nineties." When the year 2000 arrives, will we be in "the Zeroes"?

When a recent survey asked for suggestions about what to call the first decade of the new millennium, people proposed a number of interesting ideas: The Naughts (from an Old English word that means "nothing"), the Naughties, the Aughts (from an Old English word that means "anything" or "everything"), the Oughts, the Twenty-Ohs, the Two Thousands, the Double Ohs, and the Oh-Ohs.

Many are concerned about what the turn of the century will mean for our computer-dependent culture. Computer mainframes accustomed to reading two-digit numbers ("97" instead of "1997") will malfunction when faced with the prospect of a year labeled "00." Before then, billions of lines of computer codes will have to be painstakingly overhauled. According to articles in The Wall Street Journal, large corporations like GTE could end up spending as much as $150 million and assigning 1,000 people to the giant task of becoming "year-2000 compliant."

The rest of us will be affected in smaller but noticeable ways. Time-stamped voice mail will stutter; elevator controls and burglar alarm systems will need to be recalibrated; and bank accounts and insurance policies will require adjustment. One expert warns, "If it contains a chip, every mission-critical device on the planet will have to be tested against failure before the end of 1999."

Pessimists of all varieties will feel right at home in a decade called the Zeroes. Sometimes that's where it looks like our culture is headed. Zero morality. Zero respect. No absolutes. No hope. Nothing to live for.

But God is still alive and well—and so is our hope. From our human perspective, we can't even be sure what will happen tomorrow, let alone three years or a hundred years from now. But Jesus said not to worry about tomorrow, "for tomorrow will worry about itself" (Matthew 6:34). A Christian can face the future with confidence in God who calls us to zero worry—"Be careful (anxious) for nothing" (Philippians 4:6)—zero powerlessness (nothing is impossible with God)—and zero aloneness (nothing can separate us from the love of Christ).

As we turn the calendar to another year, and soon to another decade, the opportunities for service are almost unlimited. Don't give in to pessimism and despair. Don't act like those who have no hope. Find a way to serve the Lord joyfully and make a difference in 1997. Whether it's the Nineties, the Zeroes, or whenever, the formula for success is the same as it was in Jesus' day. Pick up a towel and wash someone's feet.

If you plan to read through the Bible next year, be sure to clip and save The Lookout's 1997 Bible Reading Plan in this week's issue (pages 9 and 10). In conjunction with Bob Russell's column, "The Living Word," this plan provides a balanced, practical guide for feeding on God's Word throughout the new year.