I understand that coroners or medical examiners use what they call 'the rule of three' to determine the time of death of a person who has died from natural causes. According to this rule, a person can survive three minutes without air, three days without water, and three weeks without food. However, death can occur in a much shorter time through accidents or the use of deadly force that causes massive damage to a vital organ. The fragility of life should cause us all to carefully consider our ways.
I have another 'three' to add to the list. I once attended a science teachers' seminar at Stanford University, and the group was given a tour of the linear accelerator, which is located in a long underground tunnel. The equipment is designed to accelerate a beam of charged atomic particles such as electrons or protons to almost the speed of light. The radiation from this beam is very intense and deadly. Someone asked the guide what would happen if the beam were turned on while we were there in the target area. We were told that a person would only survive about three seconds. To prevent that from ever happening, there is only one key to the switch, and the guide had it hanging around his neck.
In the early days of research on the atomic bomb in Los Alamos, New Mexico, the engineers were not so careful. In order to impress visiting dignitaries, they would put on a demonstration called 'twisting the dragon's tail.' The visitors would be ushered into a darkened room which contained a table on which were placed two chunks of a radioactive mineral. These chunks were harmless when kept apart, but if brought into too close a proximity, they would form a critical mass and start a chain reaction. The demonstrator would carefully move the two pieces together until there was a faint glow. However, one time his hand slipped, and the two pieces were inadvertently shoved too closely together. Immediately, the room was filled with a blue glow. Even though the pieces were quickly separated, it was too late; everyone present had been exposed to lethal radiation and died from the exposure.
Sometimes we are tempted to toy with a demonstration of skill, strength, or bravado that is life-threatening. Or we engage in a sport or entertainment that is thrilling but dangerous. Even more tragic are those who jeopardize their chance for eternal life by neglecting so great a salvation. They put off or even reject this great gift, thinking that they have plenty of time, but we do not know how much time we have. We are told to watch and be ready for we know not the hour when our probation will close forever. Satan, that old dragon, would like to lull us into a state of indifference or complacency, but when our time is up, we may have three weeks, three days, three minutes, or only three seconds or less. It is dangerous to "twist the dragon's tail."
