The Right Keys

But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.
James 3:17

Everywhere you turn in God’s creation you see His genius. Take the relationship between music and math. Music is impossible without the beautiful and symmetric numerical systems woven into the universe. For example, when you hit Middle C on a piano, it produces a frequency of 262 Hertz, which means that 262 pockets of higher air pressure hit your ear every second. If you play Middle G at the same time, you hear harmony because the wave patterns fit each other. Hit F-sharp and the sounds clash, resulting in discord.

A discord in music may sound interesting for a moment, but we seldom want an entire song that way. The same is true in life. We encounter moments of discord in our relationships, but we need to move beyond them for Christ’s sake and live in harmony. We need to hit the right keys—and James gives them to us in chapter 3: purity, peacefulness, gentleness, submissiveness, fullness of mercy, impartiality, and sincerity. This brings stability to our marriages, homes, and churches. It brings greater joy to our own hearts.

Which key do you need to strike today?

In my heart there rings a melody, there rings a melody of Heaven’s harmony… there rings a melody of love.
Elton M. Roth in the hymn “I Have a Song That Jesus Gave Me”