Twenty-Six Little Soldiers
All my life, my very favorite human invention has been the alphabet: twenty-six little soldiers ready to do battle at my command. They are all lined up there, neatly in alphabetical order, and when they are called out in squadrons, think of what they can do: they can shout orders, croon lullabies, scream in agony, whisper in ecstasy, dissolve ambiguities, resolve conflict, punctuate pretension, express tenderness, build up, or tear down. They can exaggerate or diminish. They can comfort or control. They can hurt or they can heal.
Twenty-six little letters-the alphabet! Now you tell me a better invention. Alone, these individual units are all but meaningless, but when they come together they can change the course of history. And that’s often the way we are as people. We need each other. Two are better than one.
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:3-4).
