Write Your Signature

Two and a half centuries ago, 56 men gathered in a room in Philadelphia and adopted a document. That exquisitely crafted and rhetorically polished document contained 1,320 of the most powerful, penetrating, and persuasive words ever written by human hands. Although many of the hands that had a hand in crafting that document had hearts that were stained by the sin of slavery, a strange power took hold of their pens.  The words that they penned laid the foundation of the United States of America, the greatest democratic experiment in the history of the world.  What Abraham Lincoln called government “of the people, by the people, and for the people.” was created by a document that was signed by 56 men.

Of the 56 signatories of the Declaration of Independence, one signature stands out bigger and bolder than all of the rest. That signature belonged to Boston born and bred John Hancock—President of the Continental Congress and representative from the state of Massachusetts. Many of the signatures are hardly legible, and that is hardly an accidental fact. The Declaration of Independence was a revolutionary document. It declared the intention to establish a new form of government, and amounted to a declaration of war. Those who signed it were taking an enormous risk. Many of the signatories deliberately wrote their names illegibly so that their identity and participation would be unknown or obscured.

Not so with John Hancock.  HIs signature was the biggest and boldest of them all.  It seems altogether fitting then that writing your “John Hancock” is a phrase that has become synonymous with writing your signature. Graphologists contend that your signature is a window into your personality. How you sign your name is shorthand for how you see yourself. John Hancocks’ signature was so big and bold because John Hancock was big and bold. Legend has it that when asked why his signature was so much larger than all the rest, Hancock replied “so that all of our enemies can see it.”

All of us have or should have a signature—not just the name we write on a piece of paper—but the unique flair that we bring to circumstances. Every successful person in every domain has a signature. The legendary chef Gordon Ramsey just doesn’t cook.  He has a signature dish: Beef Wellington. The celebrated filmmaker Spike Lee just doesn’t make movies. He has a signature video angle: the moving dolly. The athletic icon Kareem Abdul Jabbar just didn’t play basketball.  He had a signature shot: the sky hook. Your signature should be unmistakable. It should declare this is who I am, this is what I do, and this is how I do it.  

Towards the end of the letter he wrote to a group of early Christians, the Apostle Paul makes a striking statement. He says:

Now, in these last sentences, I want to emphasize in the bold scrawls of my personal handwriting the immense importance of what I have written to you. (Galatians 6:11 MSG)

Nowadays, we take literacy for granted. In ancient times, the world was much different. It is estimated that in the first century, less than ten percent of the population was literate. Imagine a world with no television, no radio, no satellites, and no social media!  Travel was difficult and expensive. Most communication was by letter.  These letters were dictated to a private secretary (called an  amanuensis) and were carried by hand across unreliable and unsafe roads. Consequently, forgeries abounded and messages were frequently lost.  

It was to this world that the Apostle brought the message of Christianity. He established churches in many of the major cities of the Roman Empire, and wrote them letters to strengthen their faith and the communities that were produced because of that faith. The book of Galatians is one such letter.

To guarantee the validity and importance of his words, Paul concludes his letter to the Galatians by affixing his personal signature. By affixing his personal signature, Paul is certifying its contents. By affixing his personal signature, Paul is guaranteeing its authenticity. By affixing his signature, Paul is emphasizing its significance.  It is interesting that Paul not only informs them that he is signing the letter. He also points out how large his signature is. It is almost as if Paul is saying I am writing my signature so big that even the Devil can read what I wrote!

So here is today’s question: how do you show up? In a world filled with people who never leave a trace, I challenge you to “write your signature” on every situation in which you find yourself. Live bigger. Live bolder.  Let it be known who you are and what you stand for. And make sure you write it so big that all of your doubters, haters and enemies can see it!