There are two kinds of people in the world: those who love numbers and those who love words. Since I’m one of the latter, writing has always been pure pleasure. And for several years, Microsoft Word has been a practical teacher with its spell check and grammar helps, correcting some of my sloppy habits. For example, when to use “it’s” or “its”.
After being “disciplined” by multi-colored underlinings again and again, an incorrect habit is eventually corrected. The same goes for a slew of formerly misspelled words. The other day Microsoft taught me that “sovereignty” actually has the word “reign” in it, a meaningful discovery. I used to spell it, “soverignty” which detracted from the gist of it, so I was thankful for the correction.
Tonight’s blog post is my 1000th on this web site, and after all that writing (and correcting), I’ve fully accepted that I hadn’t been the wordsmith I thought I was back on blog #1 and am thankful for my cyber-tutor. All I had to do was keep writing, and Microsoft gradually coached me into doing it better.
Scripture is Word of a different sort. No Silicon Valley techies were needed to write it, but its function is similar to Microsoft’s: to correct our mistakes. God’s Word does other things, too, but if we want to know how to do things right, that’s where we can find out.
Some people say, “I never read the Bible, because it’s too big a book. I wouldn’t know where to start.” Others say, “It’s too complicated and confusing, virtually impossible to understand.” But just like getting acquainted with Microsoft Word, making an effort, even a bumbling one, will lead to familiarity.
When I first began using Microsoft’s tutoring tools, I engaged in mental sparring with the little red, green, and blue error markings. “Really?” I’d say to the screen. “What’s the problem?”
But of course the problem was always me, and as I clicked on the lines, I learned what needed correcting. To repeatedly use something leads to an understanding of it. The same is true of the Bible. As we use it, we get it. And before long, we stop arguing with God that his corrections aren’t needed and become grateful for them.
By the way, I have a friend named Debbe who never needed Microsoft Word to teach her about words but excelled at spelling and grammar on her own. So when I was told of her expertise, I asked if she would bird-dog my posts, watching for errors that might slip through Microsoft’s prompts. And recently when she let me know that “pouring over papers” should have been “poring over papers,” I was genuinely grateful for the correction.
“All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.” (2 Timothy 3:16)