As a writer, I’ve learned to use exclamation points sparingly. When we use these punctuation marks too often, the reader tends to find our message annoying. The exclamation points annoy them, not our message. Far be it from me to annoy anyone, especially someone who reads what I’ve painstakingly expressed.
On the other hand, an appropriately placed exclamation point adds clarity and excitement and draws attention. When the psalmist lifted his voice to worship God and put his pen to paper to share it with others, he used the exclamation point correctly.
Too often, I hear God’s Word read in Eeyore's voice, as if someone is giving directions to the dentist’s office for a dreaded appointment. Phrases like “Jesus healed all who were sick” and “He is risen from the dead just as He said” come across like items on a grocery list. To borrow a phrase from a long-ago episode of a less-than-Christian TV show, I want to exclaim, “More cowbell! More exclamation points!”
No, inserting more cowbell won’t change the content or context of the Bible’s message. But it might change how we view it and how it affects us here and now. Had we been in the crowd when Jesus fed the five thousand, it might have caused our mouths to drop open, our hands to clap, or us to jump up and down. Or when Lazarus emerged from his tomb at Jesus’ command, I’m pretty sure we would’ve gasped with our palms to our cheeks. Our Lord Jesus is still the same today.
I’m not talking about shouting or yelling as we read. Our hearts need to embrace and express the exciting reality that God speaks to us through this amazing invention of language and writing. Above all is the fact that we encounter God’s truth. God uses His word “to prepare and equip His people to do every good work.”
Instead of reading the Bible in a dull monotone, approach it with enthusiasm, excitement, and wonder.
Anita van der Elst finds joy in creating with words, believing God gifted her with the desire to do so. Married to her best friend, Edward, since 1976, she is a proud mom of four adult children and Oma to two of the most delightful grandchildren ever. Other joys in her life include bringing beauty to Facebook through photos she takes on her iPhone, facilitating a small women’s group at church, and mentoring a few friends who also desire to write.