Stuck down at the bottom left of your keyboard are two keys that were assigned their position based on their lack of use and importance. After all, how many times do you need a “Z” in normal correspondence? How important is to have an “X” easily accessible? Quick, name me ten words that begin with “Z” or five that begin with “X.” Most of us can’t quickly recall that many words that even contain those letters, much less begin with them! So in the low down left pinky zone they go, hard to reach and easy to forget. In the world of typewriters, “X” and “Z” were tucked away in keyboard obscurity and disuse!

    Then along came the computer, and word processing, and control codes. Somewhere along the way, it was decided that “ctrl + X” (or “command + X” for those of us in the Mac Pac) would be assigned the “cut” command and “ctrl + Z” (“command + Z”) was assigned to the “undo” command. Whamo! Shazzam! Wallah! Suddenly, these little used keys move up to superstar status. Out of obscurity and into essentiality!

    Very few key combinations on my keyboard get as much use of X and Z in my world. Find something I don’t like? Then “ctrl + X” it! It’s outta here, hasta la vista, gone! Mess something up on a paragraph or an image that I’m working on? I “ctrl + Z” it! Undo that mess and take me back to a better place!

    My only frustration is that I can’t find “ctrl + X” or “ctrl + Z” on the keyboard of my real life. These remarkable keys are limited to my cyber and keyboard worlds. If only I could use them in everyday situations in real life!

    For example, I sent an email the other day that I wish I could hit “ctrl + X” and make it go away. It’s not that it wasn’t true; it just was unnecessary and unhelpful and overdone. I wish I could make it take a controlled exit out of the mind and the heart of the person to whom I sent it. Unfortunately I can’t make it go away or cut it out of existence. I sent it, and it’s out there.

    Everyday, it seems, I do something to mess things up. Sometimes I try too hard and go too far trying to fix things or make them better. Other times I’m not paying attention and “goober up”* things in the process. That’s when I sure wish I could just back up a little and hit the undo key, leaving things at a place that was better before my picking at it made it worse. Unfortunately, there’s no “ctrl + Z” in life to do that.

Unfortunately, there’s no “ctrl + Z” in life to do that.

    So if we are stuck in life without X and Z to bail us out, trim out our mistakes, and undo the messes we make, what are we to do? Well, I don’t claim to have all the answers for this problem, but I do have a few with a bit of divine sparkle to them.

    First, we can practice a little preventative maintenance so the need for X and Z aren’t so necessary. Remember what James the brother of Jesus said so long ago:

“My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.” (James 1:19) This ability comes from seeking godly wisdom in prayer (James 1:5). Godly wisdom also means that we address the bitter envy and selfish ambition in our hearts, letting that wisdom bear fruit in our lives, because “the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere” (James 3:14-17).

    Second, when we’ve made a mess of things, we need to ask for the forgiveness of those we’ve wounded or offended. While this is not exactly X and Z, it’s the closest thing that we have as people. Jesus reminds us that we need to get things corrected with our brother or sister in Christ before we really expect to worship God acceptably (Matthew 5:21-24; cf. 1 John 4:20). It’s that important!

    Unfortunately, these two principles are under-used in the keyboard of life, stuck low down in the left pinky zone! Yet as Christians who live a high-tech, fast-paced, world where we are often over-busy, under-appreciated, and overly-tired, we must bring these keys out of obscurity and back into the forefront of our everyday relationships. God wants to bring the character and grace of Christ to light in our world through us. So let’s not forget X and Z.

* “Goober Up” — High-tech phrase for messing things up real bad! A goober, however, is not a sin, it is a mis-judgment or just being unaware. Not to be confused with “goob,” which is a noun, referring to the person who goobered up a certain situation.

Title: "X and Z"
Author: Phil Ware
Publication Date: May 21, 2001

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