The Gospel of J35u5 Chr!5+, part 2

Let's look at the gospel of Humility.

I actually had this conversation with a co-worker the other day, and he sat there nodding along without realizing I was sharing a major aspect of the Gospel...

Matthew 19:30 - "But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first."

This has to do with how you think about your application, and how you design it as a result of that philosophy. We've all used apps that think they are clearly the most important thing your computer has going on. Why wouldn't your PC feel blessed to spend 80% of it's available resources running Louts Smaemite? Also, have you ever tried to use an app as part of a larger system, only to find that its only interface is through a GUI? In contrast, think about the most flexible, useful operating system in the world - Linux. It is literally a compilation of little nuggets of functionality, each one humbling itself before the system to be used any way the user sees fit. Want to read from a file? Most commands have a command line switch for that. What to read from STDIN instead? Most can handle that too. None of them exalt themselves on high and say, "I must be the only app you are using."

This concept came up in conversation with a co-worker, when he was describing the process required to get his system working. He had designed it in a bit of a vacuum (my fault). It required starting an executable and then starting 2 separate Java processes to send & receive data. I walked him through the architecture he was plugging into, and then explained how his app needed to "just start" at system boot, instead of requiring the operator to take 3 extra steps (each incurring a chance for failure) at the end or middle of the normal boot process.

When we exalt ourselves, we can achieve glory from men for a while, but overall we are not useful to the Master Designer. When we humble ourselves and submit to His plan for us, we are much more capable of serving His purposes.