Have you ever looked at a large building and wondered where it all started? Ever heard a song on the radio and speculated on where it came from? I have. I do it all the time. Just recently I was watching a DVD series with Dave Ramsey who talking about being debt free and building wealth. As I was listening to him speak, the question came to mind again. What was the first step? Oddly enough, the grand building, the compelling song and a debt free life all start at the same place–on paper.
Every sizable building project from a pole barn to the Empire State Building starts with blueprints. Every song starts with a blank page. Wealth begins with a budget. Paper. Or maybe a word processor for others. There is this magical phenomenon that occurs on the processed mesh of wood thread when a man or woman transfers their thoughts to paper. Governments, countries, corporations, political, social, and academic reforms; religious movements, wars, revolutions, scientific discoveries, artistic awakenings–all start with paper.
For example, when I first heard the Modern Hebrew word for the United States of America, I got chills. It is ארעות הברית. Transliterated: Aret Habrit, which means “the Land of the Covenant.” To the Israeli mind, the Constitution is a pact by which all Americans live and have their social identity. It all started with paper! Without that document, we would not be who we are today.
With all of these great endeavors starting in the same place, why would we think that we can build our lives any other way? A Christian counselor told me recently that on the first appointment, she will hold up her bible and inform the client that all of her counsel will come directly from the Good Book. Incredibly, many of them leave. She’s told me that she places all of her clients who are suffering financially on a budget. Many of them walk away. On counseling people on how to reach their destiny, I ask them to write a mission statement for their life. Most of them won’t. Most people are not ready to live their lives according to paper, and their lives show the sad results.
It’s hard to live according to the bible, a budget or a mission statement. They are external, transcendent guides to our lives that we have no control over. We can either choose to meet their standards, or we can walk away. That would be a mistake, for paper gives us power. Power to say no and power to say yes. When Jesus was tempted of the devil, He said, “It is written…” and said no to temptation. When I go to the store, I can say no to needless things because I have a budget. When you have a mission statement, you can say yes to destiny.
Which pieces of paper rule your life? Do you find it easy to write things out?
