amplifiers

Thomas Smith posted this great piece on amplifiers and how they distort our definition of success. I've copied it in below.

Webster's define amplify in the following way:

Main Entry: am·pli·fy
Pronunciation: -"fI
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): -fied; -fy·ing
Etymology: Middle English amplifien, from Middle French amplifier, from Latin amplificare, from amplus
Date: 15th century
transitive senses
1 : to expand (as a statement) by the use of detail or illustration or by closer analysis
2 a : to make larger or greater (as in amount, importance, or intensity) : INCREASE b : to increase the strength or amount of; especially : to make louder c : to cause (a gene or DNA sequence) to undergo amplification

As I said yesterday - we went to a Switchfoot concert on Saturday and they had a lot of amplifiers there, expanding the decibels to almost unbearable levels. My ears finally stopped ringing on Tuesday evening. For two and a half days I walked with a distinct high-pitched noise in my ears this predicament made it difficult for me to be as sensitive as normal to sounds around me.

The amplifier brought some pleasure to me whilst at the concert, but distorted my hearing for 2 days. I want to contend that when we use the amplifier in other areas of life (church growth, money making, influence, popularity) we can fall into the same trap. We may experience a temporarily exciting sensation, and then be scarred after that. It scares me to think of going to a concert like Saturday for weeks on end - I fear i will loose my hearing. Some of us have been exposed for too long to the effects of amplifiers in our life, it's time to sensitize our hearing again. Our Leader is known to be a Whisperer; our culture is known to propagate through amplifiers. What do you think?