A Numbers Game

Do you Sudoku?

Those who do, practice regularly, and are likely addicted to the game. Those who do not, seem to think that those of us who do are, well, warped.



Sudoku is a logic-based placement puzzle. The aim of the puzzle is to enter a numerical digit from 1 through 9 in each cell of a 9x9 grid made up of 3x3 subgrids, starting with various digits given in some cells; each row, column, and region must contain only one instance of each numeral 1 - 9. I find it fun - others find it annoying.

How many times a day do numbers influence our life? A number may represent: time on the alarm clock; the hours slept last night; the caloric content of breakfast, lunch or dinner; the miles driven to work, school, or church, or the grocery store; the ounces, pounds, kilograms or grams of items purchased at the grocery store; the translation of the food just purchased to the weight on the scale; the dollar amount paid for the food; the amount of ready cash in your pocket, checkbook, or coin holder in your car; the mpg my car gets from the number of gallons of gas it will hold; the price of gas; the bill for college tuition due at the end of the month; the rent/mortgage due at the end of the month; the minimum balance due on credit card bill(s); the amount written on the check given to the Lord each week; the number of times we are to forgive someone who has sinned against us; the number of times we ask for forgiveness; how often we pray; the number of books of the Bible; the attendance figures for the assembly last Sunday; the number of people who came to earth as the Messiah and died for our sins; the number on the house that defines our address; the number of bedrooms in our homes. . . well, you get the idea.

Numbers, both large and small, are embedded in our lives. Another way to use numbers that I've not listed above? It is really quite simple, yet also quite complex. This thing, used for millennia, has the power to quiet, create peace, emit emotion, generate hype, cause social unrest, promote debate, create culture and counter-culture, and the love and expression of it becomes part of our profile or personality. Do you know what it is?

This simple, yet complex thing is music. Music is basically sound we hear. But music is primarily how those 8 notes (the octave) are manipulated to create the sounds we hear. There are different pitches, timbres, melodies, and rhythms with different tonal qualities. We play it in our cars and in our homes. We have CDs, radios, computers and iPods to capture it; we use music in our celebrations and in our good-byes to loved ones.


I find it phenomenal that the same basic structure that Brahms used to create his lullaby is the same structure used by heavy metal "musicians", yet we have drastically different results in what we hear. Listen to the 'oldies' and you may be reminded of songs you danced or sang to in your youth - the same songs that caused your parents to cringe when heard. Yet for all the years we've had the ability to create different sounds with music, we continue to find new ways to put the notes together to keep creating new music.

Music is a way we worship our Lord. Nothing compares to a room full of people singing praises to God - beautiful! Read the words of the psalmist below:

Psalm 150 (NLT)
Praise the LORD! Praise God in his heavenly dwelling; praise him in his mighty heaven! Praise him for his mighty works;praise his unequaled greatness! Praise him with a blast of the trumpet; praise him with the lyre and harp! Praise him with the tambourine and dancing; praise him with stringed instruments and flutes! Praise him with a clash of cymbals; praise him with loud clanging cymbals. Let everything that lives sing praises to the LORD!
Praise the LORD!

Let's praise God today. Whether in the car, office, or even the shower - let our singing be beautiful music to His ears.