PUNCTUATE YOUR LIFE

Reading the Bible today, I came across a passage where God asks this particular question (Haggai 1:4-7). He says, “Take a good, hard look at your life. Think it over. You have spent a lot of money, but you haven’t much to show for it. You keep filling your plates, but you never get filled up. You keep drinking and drinking and drinking, but you’re always thirsty. You put on layer after layer of clothes, but you can’t get warm. And the people who work for you; what are they getting out of it? Not much! A leaky, rusted-out bucket, that’s what. So take a good, hard look at your life. Think it over.”

That is good advice as we wind down the year – to look at the things that we have been doing as well as ask the questions, “Have I been doing the things that I don’t need to do? Have I been putting energy into things that have not yielded results? Has all my work come to naught? How about the people who work for me?”

I came across this quote by Bill Copeland where he says, “The trouble with not having a goal is that you can spend your life running up and down the field and never score.”

Sometimes when we look at our lives, we realize that it does seem like it’s an endless running up and down, without being able to say ‘I scored’, because mainly there are no goal posts in our lives and so it’s just taking the ball up and down the field. As I put these 2 readings together, I felt a sense of focus for us this morning as the year draws to a close. It would be good even in these last 10 or 11 days, to put a goal and say, “Ok, I have 10 days. I’m going to make these days count for something; take a good hard look at my life.”

When we started this year, I think we talked about a new chapter, an ability to write a new script, to turn the page on the previous year and to have fresh new opportunities. And as I look at the script that we’ve written, I wonder whether we have been able to punctuate the script well, because punctuation makes such a difference to the way writing can be read.

I came across this humorous article that is used very commonly to show how punctuation can change a letter or an article. It’s a letter written to a man called John by a lady called Jane. And in the letter, she spells out in no uncertain terms how much she loves and adores John. It was clear that she couldn’t live without him. The letter goes like this.

Dear John:

I want a man who knows what love is all about. You are generous, kind, thoughtful. People who are not like you admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me for other men. I yearn for you. I have no feelings whatsoever when we’re apart. I can be forever happy – will you let me be yours”

Jane.

But look at what happens to the same letter, if punctuations are placed in different places. It now reads:

Dear John:

I want a man who knows what love is. All about you are generous, kind, thoughtful people, who are not like you. Admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me. For other men, I yearn. For you, I have no feelings whatsoever. When we’re apart, I can be forever happy. Will you let me be?

Yours,
Jane

Punctuations can change the very scope of meaning. How has your life been punctuated through this year? Have you placed the punctuations in the right places?

Here are a couple of thoughts that I am going to put before you because I put them before me even as I was thinking about speaking to you. I thought to myself: there needs to be full stops that are put in place in these next ten days; there needs to be commas. Maybe there needs to be a semi-colon and an exclamation mark.

A full stop – something needs to stop. Something needs to find an end. What is it in my life and in yours that hasn’t been productive, that needs to be ended? It could be something that you are doing. It could even be your job. It’s been meaningless and you’ve just stuck on. You need to change. It could be some addictive destructive behavior that you need to put a full stop to. It could be spending weaknesses that you have that you need to put a full stop to.

How about commas? Commas clarify meaning about avoid ambiguity. What is it that needs to be developed? A relationship? Maybe your job? Have you been stereotyped in your job? Do you need to develop it further? Do you need to study? Do you need to make wise investments?

Then the semi-colons; things that need to be re-packaged. We say something and then put a semi-colon and then elaborate on it. What is it that needs to be re-packaged in us, set a different way? Yourself? Do you need to present yourself differently? Do you need to add skills, study further, study differently, add another portfolio?

Then I thought about the exclamation mark. These are things that need to be celebrated. Maybe you’ve earned a promotion and you’ve never taken the time out to celebrate with your family or close friends. Maybe you’ve paid off loans – that’s worth celebrating; or bought a house, or even graduated. The year has just run away without a pause to say, ‘Hey, I did well. There’s something to be celebrated.’

Then after a full stop, we always start with a capital letter. That capital letter stands for things that need to be started. What is it that needs to be started? Is God part of the equation in your life?

It brought me to Christmas. All of us are going to be celebrating this holiday. What does Christmas mean? In its very essence it means ‘God with us’. That was God’s plan when Jesus came down to earth – to be with us. And maybe that’s something we need to put into our lives – to rely on God mare. Maybe we’ve gone through the whole year thinking that we can do things on our own. Maybe now it’s time to say, “I’m going to put God back into the equation of my life.”

10/11 days to put a goal in place:

• Things that need to be stopped.
• Things that need to be developed,
• Things that need to be re-packaged;
• Things that need to be celebrated!
• Things that need to be started with a ‘Capital Letter’

I pray that we would take a hard look at our lives and think it over and see if we need to re-punctuate some of the areas in our lives.

God Bless Us All.