Drop Box review

"A Box In The Clouds"

How times have changed! If someone had told me ten years ago about a box in the clouds I would have guessed an airplane door had come open and some of its cargo was plummeting toward earth. But that's not at all what my title today suggests: I have in mind a virtual box that is located in the virtual clouds.

"Virtual" has been a buzzword in computing for the last couple of decades. It all began with "virtual reality", a term that suggested things that looked real but weren't. Today we sometimes hear of virtual relationships, a situation where two people communicate frequently, but never in person. Their conversations take place via social media, email or (old-fashioned!) telephone.

A couple of years ago I learned about Drop Box, a service on the Internet that enables a person to share large files with others (or perhaps just store those files). By connecting with this "box" that is located in the "clouds" (i.e. on some unknown computer), my associates and I can share files that would be much too large for email. I utilize a couple of these services, and as long as I don't get too ambitious the service is free. I have found these virtual boxes to be pretty handy.

Before I learned about these boxes, I was introduced to another box (that also happens to be virtual). Walt and Barb Larimore, in their book "His Brain, Her Brain", envision a box into which husbands and wives place good deeds and feelings. From time to time each of us who is married reaches into the happiness box, so to speak. We need that warm and nurturing experience of closeness that we expected to have throughout life when we said "I do". For some, though, the box has become empty. There are no happy feelings to withdraw.

What has happened in such cases? The author's point was simple: If we don't take time to put happy and loving things into our "marriage boxes", we shouldn't be surprised to one day find that box empty. (The same principle works with bank accounts - have you noticed?)

Paul made a point about marriage in 1 Corinthians 7:3 that speaks to this idea: "Let the husband render to his wife the affection due her, and likewise also the wife to her husband." The English Standard Version renders affection as "conjugal rights", and the context makes clear that is what Paul had in mind. Physical affection is an important part of marriage, and both husbands and wives should recognize this fact.

A larger principle arises from this command: Affection is what I owe to my marriage partner, whether it be in the marriage bed (see Hebrews 13:4) or in simpler acts of love, such as a kiss on the cheek, holding hands or saying "I love you" now and then. Those who fail to put such acts of affection into their marriage boxes should not be shocked to one day discover the box has been emptied out.

Consider also Jesus' words in Luke 6:31: "And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise." This "Golden Rule" applies to every relationship we have with others. If it applies to all, doesn't it especially apply to the way I treat my wife or my husband?

You may not subscribe to Drop Box. But if you are married, there is a happiness box in your relationship. Have you placed anything in it lately? Remember the affection you owe to one another.

Come to the light God offers! Study His word, the Bible. Worship Him in spirit and truth (John 4:24). Get in touch with us if you'd like to discuss these ideas further.

Timothy D. Hall