A rose, by any other name is still expensive
What's in a name? We can thank good old Bill Shakespeare for posing some of the most though provoking questions known to man. So let's ponder together what really is in a name. Shakespeare says that a rose by any other name would still smell as sweet. That may be true, but if you're trying to get my attention in a crowded room, you'd better get my name right or you're not going to have much luck. So is a thing defined by it's name, or is a name really nothing more than a label?
Let's take a quick refresher course in the English language. Most of it speak it fluently, but few of us remember any of the rules. For most of us it's a little like trying to redeem reward points or frequent flyer miles. "I" before "e" except after "c", not valid on major holidays or on days that end in "y". We're aware that rules exist, but no clue how to explain them. Luckily for me I have a daughter in second grade who is learning all these rules for the first time. Which means she still remembers them and I can ask her what some of them mean.
So we're going to borrow my eight-year-old's brain for a minute and talk about synonyms. Hopefully we all remember what these are, but humor me while I explain it. Synonyms are two different words that have a similar meaning. They can often be used interchangeably without changing the meaning of a sentence. So if I wanted to convey to you how tired I am right now after spending most of the last week remodeling a bathroom, I have several word choices. Tired, exhausted, fatigued, demoralized, clueless (not a synonym, but still an appropriate adjective to describe me right now), just to name a few.
In the world of database engineering, however a synonym has a different meaning. Without getting too deep into how databases work a synonym means you are picking a word to refer to some other thing in the database. For example, let's say you have a table where all of your customers are stored. The table will have a name which most likely cannot be changed without breaking almost all of your software. Let's say the table is called "all_my_customers" (note that the underscores are fairly common because database programs don't like spaces). Now, say that you really don't like that name and you want to refer to the customer table by another name. You would create a synonym and then use that instead. The table didn't change, but now you've to a different name that you like better. It's just like giving the table a nickname.
I've noticed that sometime we run into problems in our life by combining these two concepts. We use a new word that we like better and think that the meaning of the sentence is unchanged. One example that comes to mind are the words slow and deliberate. Sometimes we have coworkers who we would consider slow, but instead call them deliberate. Or maybe it's the other way around. The point is that being deliberate often looks the same as being slow, but it's not the same thing. You can be slow without being deliberate. You can also be deliberate without being slow.
By the same token you can be described as fast or reckless. Sometimes they mean the same thing, or rather have the same outcome, but now always. If you've ever watched a pit crew in a NASCAR race change tires, fast is really the only way to describe it, but it's definitely not reckless. So you have to be careful which words you choose to describe things. You can swap out words that mean the same thing, but you can't swap out words that you like better. In other words, you can use synonyms, but be careful if you use nicknames.
We do the same thing with spiritual matters. A prime example of mistaking synonyms for nicknames is patience and idleness. It's far too easy to be idle and tell ourselves that we're being patient. We refrain from action because we're patiently waiting the right opportunity. How many of us have friends or neighbors (wait, is it leap year? did I put the "i" in the right spot?) that could use an invitation to come to church or talk to the missionaries and we're patiently waiting for the right opportunity? This is one of Satan's favorite tricks because we essentially convince ourselves that we're doing the right thing by having patience. Aren't we supposed to be patient? The scriptures are full of counsel to be patient, but it's almost always in the context of trials or burdens. When we are counseled to be patient what we're really being asked to do is forget about our own timetable and trust in the Lord. We are rarely ever counseled to refrain from action.
So we take a word that don't like -idleness- and give it a nickname -patience- and convince ourselves that we used a synonym. This makes us feel better about doing to wrong thing, but it's a trap. You've all heard somebody at some point say "Let's call it what it is" and this is what they're talking about. If you find yourself facing a bad habit, confront it, don't give it a nickname. A rose by any other name may still smell as sweet, but the same holds true for other things, like raw sewage.
The real question is not what's in a name, but rather what name did you choose.
Let's take a quick refresher course in the English language. Most of it speak it fluently, but few of us remember any of the rules. For most of us it's a little like trying to redeem reward points or frequent flyer miles. "I" before "e" except after "c", not valid on major holidays or on days that end in "y". We're aware that rules exist, but no clue how to explain them. Luckily for me I have a daughter in second grade who is learning all these rules for the first time. Which means she still remembers them and I can ask her what some of them mean.
So we're going to borrow my eight-year-old's brain for a minute and talk about synonyms. Hopefully we all remember what these are, but humor me while I explain it. Synonyms are two different words that have a similar meaning. They can often be used interchangeably without changing the meaning of a sentence. So if I wanted to convey to you how tired I am right now after spending most of the last week remodeling a bathroom, I have several word choices. Tired, exhausted, fatigued, demoralized, clueless (not a synonym, but still an appropriate adjective to describe me right now), just to name a few.
In the world of database engineering, however a synonym has a different meaning. Without getting too deep into how databases work a synonym means you are picking a word to refer to some other thing in the database. For example, let's say you have a table where all of your customers are stored. The table will have a name which most likely cannot be changed without breaking almost all of your software. Let's say the table is called "all_my_customers" (note that the underscores are fairly common because database programs don't like spaces). Now, say that you really don't like that name and you want to refer to the customer table by another name. You would create a synonym and then use that instead. The table didn't change, but now you've to a different name that you like better. It's just like giving the table a nickname.
I've noticed that sometime we run into problems in our life by combining these two concepts. We use a new word that we like better and think that the meaning of the sentence is unchanged. One example that comes to mind are the words slow and deliberate. Sometimes we have coworkers who we would consider slow, but instead call them deliberate. Or maybe it's the other way around. The point is that being deliberate often looks the same as being slow, but it's not the same thing. You can be slow without being deliberate. You can also be deliberate without being slow.
By the same token you can be described as fast or reckless. Sometimes they mean the same thing, or rather have the same outcome, but now always. If you've ever watched a pit crew in a NASCAR race change tires, fast is really the only way to describe it, but it's definitely not reckless. So you have to be careful which words you choose to describe things. You can swap out words that mean the same thing, but you can't swap out words that you like better. In other words, you can use synonyms, but be careful if you use nicknames.
We do the same thing with spiritual matters. A prime example of mistaking synonyms for nicknames is patience and idleness. It's far too easy to be idle and tell ourselves that we're being patient. We refrain from action because we're patiently waiting the right opportunity. How many of us have friends or neighbors (wait, is it leap year? did I put the "i" in the right spot?) that could use an invitation to come to church or talk to the missionaries and we're patiently waiting for the right opportunity? This is one of Satan's favorite tricks because we essentially convince ourselves that we're doing the right thing by having patience. Aren't we supposed to be patient? The scriptures are full of counsel to be patient, but it's almost always in the context of trials or burdens. When we are counseled to be patient what we're really being asked to do is forget about our own timetable and trust in the Lord. We are rarely ever counseled to refrain from action.
So we take a word that don't like -idleness- and give it a nickname -patience- and convince ourselves that we used a synonym. This makes us feel better about doing to wrong thing, but it's a trap. You've all heard somebody at some point say "Let's call it what it is" and this is what they're talking about. If you find yourself facing a bad habit, confront it, don't give it a nickname. A rose by any other name may still smell as sweet, but the same holds true for other things, like raw sewage.
The real question is not what's in a name, but rather what name did you choose.
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