Seriously God...I have to stop double spacing after periods?
God's Word acts like mirror into my heart, and I'll I can see are double spaces.
Time to time my older sister will call me and ask me whether I knew something had changed in the world. Things like, “Did you know that the Cleveland Indians are now called the Guardians?” Or, “When did Fast and Furious go beyond three installments? It is on 10 or 11 now.”
Recently, she asked me something that I had to really think about. “Do we double space after a period?”
Yes…no…I don’t know? I replied.
Putting her on hold for a moment and after reading about it a bit online, I told her it seemed the current standard was we single space after the period. That’s right, I thought to myself. Now I remember—modern type fonts are spaced out enough, so you don’t need the double space. Wasn’t that obvious? Just like her, I had learned to hit the spacebar twice, but I had evolved. Why couldn’t she should keep up with the times?
The called ended, and I went back to look at my personal posts on this site and realized something shocking—I had been hitting the space bar twice after each sentence! As I typed this entry I couldn’t stop hitting the space bar twice. I had to go back and fix every sentence. Rereading different pieces, I was horrified how close the sentences looked without two spaces. Had I been doing this all my adult life? Knowing now my mistake, I should have called my sister to tell her she wasn’t alone wanting double spaces, but of course I didn’t do that. I was too embarrassed to admit, even for a moment, that I was the same technology and cultural dinosaur I was accusing her of being.
This is one of those cases where Jesus asks us how is it that we look at the speck of sawdust in someone else’s eye when we have a plank in our own. Being quick to see my sister’s ignorance was easy and natural for me. My wife, coworkers, leaders, church members are the same. I have a high standard and expectation and it makes me easily discouraged when others don’t reach it, but how much do I really hold myself up against that same standard? When I’m down or weak, I want their help, but when I feel strong, I’m asking them to mercilessly keep up. Double spacing is not a sin, but I was really rattled by the idea I could be so sure of my sister’s ignorance, but oblivious to my own.
It’s hard to see yourself unless you have a mirror. For us that mirror is God’s Word.
Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.
James 1:23-25 NIV.
This is why I sometimes don’t want to read the Bible because it’s easier to stay ignorant about my way of living and my tendencies than have this spiritual flashlight take a look inside my dark cavernous heart. It isn’t uncommon for me to tell others to give me the space to keep my head down and plow through what I have to get done, but in doing so I’m also shielding myself from having to look into the mirror. Just get stuff done I tell myself. My fingers double space without remorse.
The irony is I literally often look in the mirror to check if there is anything on my face or to see if my hair looks weird (because it often feels that way), but that’s all because I want to make sure I look good in front of others. My spiritual life is probably a lot like that too—checking in the mirror to make sure I look good in front of others rather than checking if I’m really right with God. Totally different motivation with a totally different outcome.
I sure I’m going to accidentally hit two spaces after a period because it is so ingrained in my fingers, but that is how sin can be too. Readjusting my fingers will be like readjusting my heart, but it is worth it to keep going and transforming into someone after God’s own heart.
It’s scary to look into God’s Word as mirror into your heart and see who you really are inside. What are you afraid you will see?