Do you remember the hoopla over Y2K? It's interesting going back but at the time is was pretty scary. There is still a great lesson. So read it again and enjoy.

Y2K: A Formula For Disaster?            

Quiz Question: What in the world is Y2K?

a)      A new formula for Bug Spray.

b)      ‘You’re 2 Kind!’

c)      Computer-geek symbol for “Big Oops!”

d)      The fall of humankind and the end of the world.

Answer: Probably c) or possibly d) but it depends on who you’re reading. Here is an example:

As the new millennium begins, millions of computers throughout the world will begin to crash. The lights will go out where the computers that run the electric power grid fail to make the transition to the next century. Many government agencies and business will be unable to function as their essential computer programs either shut down or produce false data. The failure to correct this massive problem before the year 2000 deadline will threaten jobs, our food and our finances.

        -- Grant R. Jeffrey – The Millennium Meltdown

What happened? Apparently, during the early days of computers when memory was scarce the programmers took a shortcut and eliminated two digits from the date. For example: 12/12/1965 became 12/12/65. No problem… until now or at least, January 1, 2000. When the 19 becomes 20 no one really knows how computers will respond. They could shut down or simply go back to 00, which means 1900. Either reaction spells big trouble.

Computer programmers around the world are frantically racing against time to make the millions of corrections necessary to avoid catastrophe. Unfortunately, they will not succeed! So the billion-dollar question is: “What will happen?” A Newsweek article gives five interesting alternatives:

1)       Y2AOK: Relax: The government has it under control. Y worry?

2)       USA = no Y2K: The real problems are overseas. You’ll be fine if you don’t fly abroad or invest in Asia.

3)       Cautious Buzz: Nothing big will go down. But it can’t hurt to print out bank statements and buy a gas mask. Welcome to the future.

4)       Zealot Buzz: Millennium bug as apocalypse. The worthy ascend; the rest of us… well, it looks bad.

5)       Y2K = H2O .357: Stockpile water and ammo: it’s gonna hit the fan. Cities collapse; nukes rain. I’ve got my home cannery, my silver dollars and booby traps.

Think of all the areas where the Y2K problem could cripple our lifestyle:

Ø       Banks – All your records could be lost as computers shut down or go back in time.

Ø       Travel – Air traffic control is guided by gigantic computer systems.

Ø       Communications – Computer switchboards control all of our telephone lines.

Ø       Military – All of our missiles and modern weapons are dependent upon computers.

Ø       Energy – Power plants and even local gas pumps are computer controlled.

Ø       Social Security – All checks are printed and mailed by computer.

Ø       Stock Market – Computers regularly handle all records and transactions.

In other words, come January 1, 2000 you could wake up with a dead telephone line, no electricity, no heat in your house and no access to the money you need to survive. Does all of this sound farfetched and alarmist? That’s the problem… no one really knows. So the question is:

If Y2K cannot be fixed then how do we avoid panic and prepare for the coming crisis?

Proverbs 6:10 says, “Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and be wise!” Being wise in this case means working hard and being prepared. Are you ready for the coming Millennium? If you are like me, probably not, but there is a story in the Bible that can really help us prepare. Next week we’ll learn a Y2K lesson from God through Joseph.

For the conclusion, please click here