I was taught in high school and college to keep my sentences short. Since then I’ve read a number of books about writing (always trying to improve), and all offer the same advice. Among other things, a reader processes short sentences better, thus making complex ideas simpler to follow.
But the Apostle Paul, the most prolific of Biblical authors, spurned such advice. He preferred the comma over the period. Check out this one sentence from his letter to the Ephesians:
For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.
I hate to critique the most-read author who ever lived, but Paul’s style makes it hard to follow his complex thoughts. Following his argument is like peering into a deep pool, the bottom undefined, or as Paul himself put it, looking into a mirror dimly.
But when I take my time and break down this dizzying sentence, beauty emerges. Paul prays that we may experience the wisdom and power of our Lord Jesus Christ. God called us to riches beyond our imagining, and Paul prays that the eyes of our hearts will light up with this knowledge.
What I appreciate about Paul’s style is how it draws me into truth. I want to gaze into that pool, to dive into his teachings. The wisdom of God and the power of Jesus indeed exist. It takes unhurried thought and to be honest, hard work to mull it all over. But within this long glorious sentence lies the spark to set our hearts afire.
Ephesians 1:15-21
Photo by Zhuo Cheng you
I learned incollage marketing class, with the invention of TV. We have been trained to have 30 second attention span. As each generation comes in contact with more and more screen time and at a early age, that attention span becomes shorter. This includes even with reading the written word. The point being with in terms of your article, which I really appreciate, is self discipline and exercising our minds to overcome. Thanks Dave for your daily insights.
Thank you. I just read where some college students have a hard time watching an entire movie from start to finish due to short attention spans. Of course, some movies are boring and the mind wanders, but we are certainly losing an ability to focus for longer periods of time.