Posts Tagged: the limitations of lists

“ON THE MAKING OF LISTS”

On March 19, 2018 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

I like to make lists.

Of course, as with everything else that I enjoy, I tend to overdo it at times.  Sometimes, my lists become a disease, multiplying like a fast-moving virus.  I import the expectations of others, in addition to my own excessive self-demands.

However, the fact that a thing can become demonic doesn’t mean that it wasn’t once angelic.  The Bible seems to indicate that the demons are actually fallen angels.  Whether or not demons can ever be rehabilitated, I don’t know.  But I think that lists can be.

So, what do lists do for me?

Well, for one thing, they keep my attention-deficit-mind a little more focused.  I don’t want to oversell this, but lists do help me—provided, of course, that I can remember where I put the list and remember to look at it every once in a while.

Also, there is a satisfaction that comes from checking off, one-by-one, the items on my lists.  It is a pretty cheap form of entertainment, but it entertains me nevertheless.  Years ago, I heard someone speak of “the satisfaction of a bill marked PAID.”  There is a similar satisfaction that is the fruit of an item on the list that is checked off.

Of course, a TO-DO list is no substitute for having worthwhile goals in the first place.  And these goals must themselves flow from a commitment to good, solid values that not only serve me well, but also serve other people, our planet, and God.  A list populated with trivia is still trivial, even if I check it all off.

However, it is precisely at the point of my values and goals that I find the greatest benefit to lists.  Here is how this works for me: Lists often make me ask difficult questions that I don’t really want to ask.  Lists invite me to ask such questions as  these:

  • Do the items on this list reflect my best values and goals?
  • Does doing this item and crossing it off my list make me a better person?
  • Do the things on this list have a shot at helping to make other people better?
  • Does what I’m doing benefit the planet?
  • Does this list and the items on it make God look as good as God is?
  • If the answer to any of the above questions is “No” or “I don’t know,” why am I doing this stuff?

And then, I can ask two more questions:

  • What can I take off the list to make room for the things that do matter?
  • What do I need to add to the list?

I am comforted a bit in my list-making by the fact that God apparently likes lists as well.  There are of course, various lists in the Bible: lists of sacrifices, lists of holy days, and so on.  One of the most famous lists is the Ten Commandments.  It is always good to remind myself that I must not murder anyone today.  (I think that, by extension, this might include not assassinating anyone’s reputation.)

The most famous list of the New Testament actually quotes and puts together two commandments from the Old Testament.  Jesus was asked what was the greatest commandment.  Jesus did not answer with one commandment.  Instead, he made a list of two: Love God and love your neighbor as yourself.  Perhaps my individual lists would be improved if I remembered this two-item list.

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