Words of Worth

What is the worst sound in the world?

October 12, 2012

What is the worst sound in the world? That question has received some attention lately and just last night on the evening news, the answer was revealed. In case you missed it, I will share with you but not before showing you some of the sound contenders:

creaky door
dentist drill
vomiting
coughing
mobile phone ringtones
fingernails on a chalkboard
squeaky things

Topping the list of 34 horrible sounds, according to 1.1 million worldwide online voters, was vomiting! Scientists’ explanation is that we are programmed to be repulsed by horrible things like vomiting and it is fundamental to our survival as humans to avoid nasty stuff. Whatever the explanation, I noticed that a lot of squeaky noises made the experiment list and squeaky is not my favorite sound so that made me thankful for WD-40.

WD-40 literally means “water displacement 40th attempt” because the first 39 experiments and trials failed. Nearly every success story is riddled with crushing defeats and countless setbacks, but when people focus on the bigger picture, they keep going. Angry Birds took 52 attempts for Roxio to get it right. James Dyson failed 5,126 times before perfecting his revolutionary vacuum. Chicken Soup for the Soul received 140 rejections before selling more than 80 million copies in 37 languages.

WD-40 made me thankful, not only for reducing auditory assaults, but also because it reminded me of
2 Timothy 4:5

As for you, always be steady, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”

We all have work to do this side of glory. Be encouraged today to persevere in God’s calling for you. The Israelites had many naysayers discouraging them in building the temple. It would have been easy to call it quits or to say the work was too hard. But they had been called by God and so they continued in God’s strength.

The worst sound in the world may just be, not the sound of throwing up, but the sound of giving up-defeat! If all the great contributors to this world gave up early on like most of us do, we’d sure have a lot more squeaky hinges in the world. Let’s endure through all the noise so one day we can hear the greatest sound in the world–hearing our Master say, “Well done thy good and faithful servant.” (sv)