The metric system is the most widely used system for measurement—for example, the metre (length or distance), the second (time), or the kilogram (mass). In the scientific community these are known as SI units (from the French for the International System of Units). This helps to standardize measurements across the globe.
However, over the last century the question of what makes up the “constant” of each unit has been under review, needing redefinition. For example, time used to be measured simply on the basis of the earth’s rotation—dividing a “day” into 24 hours, 1,440 minutes, 86,400 seconds. But scientists have discovered that the earth’s rotation rate has actually slowed down and is still slowing down. It is not constant, and therefore cannot be a basis for accurate scientific measurement.
In the search of a more precise constant, scientists seem to be moving away from a “purely physical” standard (like a lump of metal that is stored in a special vault in France as the basis for the kilogram) to a more “conceptual” standard. For example, the second is now redefined as “9.2 billion oscillations of a microwave beam when tuned to the frequency required to excite a caesium atom.” Or the metre is redefined as “the distance travelled by light in a vacuum in 1/299,792,458 of a second.”
I’m no scientist. Discussions such as these can get my head spinning. But one thing does catch my attention—the search for a standard that is constant and reliable. Without such a standard, calculations would lack precision, and communication in the scientific community can get quite chaotic. And this presents some implications for the rest of human life, especially in the matter of ethics and morality. Somehow, we tend to resist talk about standards and prefer to approach life on the basis of personal preferences. No wonder community life can be quite chaotic.
For the follower of Christ, there can only be one constant. And that constant is the reliable standard: the Triune God. Scripture describes God as one “who does not change like shifting shadows” (James 1.17). Of our Lord it is written: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13.8). And by extension, the Word of God also is a constant and reliable standard on which we can securely build our lives, for “the word of the Lord endures forever” (1 Peter 1.25).
What or who is “The Constant” in your life?
—Keith Y. Jainga