Religion: A Pastor Ponders

Reaching 101%

By Pastor William Jenkins

August 1, 2007

Have you ever wondered about those people who say they are giving more than 100%? From a strictly mathematical viewpoint, what equals 100%? What does it mean to give MORE than 100%? We have all been in situations where someone wants you to give over 100%. How about achieving 101%? What equals 101% in life? Here's a little mathematical formula that might shed some light on the issue:

Let A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z be represented as
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26.
That being the case,
H-A-R-D-W-O-R- K
8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11 = 98%
and
K-N-O-W-L-E-D-G-E
11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5 = 96%

Hard work and knowledge don’t quite get us to 100%. But,
A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E
1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5 = 100%.

Attitude is more important to achieving 100% effort in life than hard work and knowledge. But what about giving more than 100%?
Consider the love of God:
L- O- V- E-O-F-G-O-D
12+15+22+5+15+6+7+15+4 = 101%

Therefore, one can conclude with mathematical certainty that, while Hard-work and Knowledge will get you close, and Attitude will get you there, it's the Love of God that will put you over the top in life!

I thank my friend Becky Mitchell for sharing this with me.

League City United Methodist Church is located at 1411 Main Street (FM 518), one block east of Interstate 45. For information, call the church offices at 281-332-1557 or visit the website at

HYPERLINK - http://www.lcumc.org