Does It Matter? by Chad Hess

In the tech world this week, there has been a lot of discussion over the pronunciation of the graphics format .gif.  Gif is an old graphics format that has seen resurgence on the Internet as looping videos of short silly things.  There has long been a debate as to whether the g is a hard g or a soft g in its pronunciation.  A hard g like "graphics" fits the name, as gif is an acronym for Graphic Interchange Format.  A soft g like "jiffy" could refer to the time measurement in computers.  This week, the creator of the .gif format said that it was pronounced with a soft g, and anyone pronouncing it with a hard g is wrong.

Before you stop reading out of boredom, let me guess what you're thinking: "Who cares?  I don't know what a .gif is, and I certainly don't care how its pronounced!"  I mention this to illustrate a point.  What may be a long-standing debate of importance within a given group of people is absolutely ridiculous to outsiders.  The same thing can easily happen in the church, but we don't see it because we stay within our little group. 

Some theological debates are important and should be discussed.  When Christian leaders twist a natural disaster like the tornado that devastated Oklahoma last week into a vengeful act of judgment by an angry God, they malign the character of God, and we should fight against it.  However, those who insist that the King James Bible is more pure and is the only version that should be used are fighting a fight that doesn't need to be fought.  There may be a place for those kinds of discussions in some groups, but it's not a fight that should define us.  To paraphrase Matthew 23:23, don't get so caught up in the little issues that we ignore the more important ones.

Chad Hess