The Jesus Nut
According to various sources:
Jesus nut is a slang term for the main rotor retaining nut or mast nut, which holds the main rotor to the mast of some helicopters. The related slang term Jesus pin refers to the lock pin used to secure the retaining nut. More generally, Jesus nut (or Jesus pin) is used to refer to any component that is a single point of failure and whose breakdown would result in catastrophic consequences, the suggestion being that in such case the only thing left to do would be to pray to Jesus. ...
... The nut/pin must be checked before the flight, even though real-world examples of the Jesus nut/pin failing are rare. For example, in 2000, the mast nut of a Bell 206B was removed to be repainted and was not restored and checked prior to a test flight. The helicopter crashed within ten minutes of takeoff, killing the two occupants.
*Some more recent helicopter systems are designed without a Jesus nut.
Whether you are a Christian who already knows the importance of the preeminence of Christ in your life, or an unbeliever who operates from the false premise that you can design your life to operate just fine without a Jesus nut, one thing is true: Absent the centrality of Christ in your life, you WILL crash and burn.
"Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. 'Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing'" (John 15:4-5, NLT).
"For in him we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28, NIV).
Different Questions, Same Answer
Chuck Swindoll poses several questions which he says are all different, yet share the same answer:
What will guard us against foolish extremes?
What characterizes those who are habitually successful in sports or sales or some skill?
What single quality in a business builds respect deeper than any other?
What brings security in relationships?
What makes us choose a particular brand name over all others?
What's needed most by parents in the home?
What draws you to the same restaurant time and again?
What do you want most from your paperboy…or milkman…or postman?
What will add more weight to your witness for Christ than anything else?
And, I might add, what one thing will most help you win tennis matches?
Dr. Charles R. Swindoll has served as pastor of some of our nation’s most prominent churches, chancellor of Dallas Theological Seminary, and Bible teacher on the internationally syndicated radio program Insight for Living. He has written more than thirty best-selling books, including STRENGTHENING YOUR GRIP, LAUGH AGAIN, THE GRACE AWAKENING, and the million-selling GREAT LIVES FROM GOD'S WORD series.
The answer, he says:
CONSISTENCY. That's the answer to all the questions, and you know it's true. Steadiness. … In biblical terms, constancy is a subtle, supple thread woven into the fabric of scriptural truth.
Let our model be Jesus. "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yes and forever" (Hebrews 13:8).
Are You A Selfish Monkey
Don't like selfish people? Well you're not alone. It turns out that Monkeys don't like them either. According to a study published in the journal NATURE COMMUNICATIONS this month (Mar '13), primates consistently avoid interactions with humans which "come off as selfish."
In the study, seven highly social and cooperative capuchin monkeys watched two actors interact. The two people either helped or refused to help the other open a jar with a toy inside. They then offered a free treat to the monkeys ... The capuchins showed no preferences between the two people when help was given but consistently turned down food from the person who was available to help others but declined to do so.
Kiley Hamlin, a developmental psychologist at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, explained that the monkeys perceived the refusal to help as a sign that the selfish subject was "dangerous." She based that opinion on the fact that wild capuchins greatly depend on cooperation with others of their kind for survival. Selfish monkeys are not dependable. Selfish monkeys cannot be trusted. Therefore, selfish monkeys are dangerous monkeys.
We've all known some selfish monkeys. People who offer to teach Sunday School, but then don't show. People who offer to help you move, but only come to eat the donuts and chat by the truck. People who say they'll keep a secret, but then turn and tell all. People who seem to love your home, or your car more than they love you. People who say they only want the best for you, then throw you under the bus to get ahead themselves.
We find ourselves innately pulling away from such "friends"--even when they appear to be handing us a "free treat"--because we've come to view them as unreliable, undependable, untrustworthy. Dangerous.
We are commanded in Scripture to not be selfish, but to think of the interests and needs of others above our own (Philippians 2:3-4). Why? Because selfish people are dangerous people. "You want what you don't have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can't get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them" (James 4:1-2, NLT). Selfish people murder and covet and fight and quarrel. And where "jealousy and selfish ambition exist," says James, "there will be disorder and every vile practice (James 3:14-16, ESV).
Don't be a selfish monkey!