Pesky Typos - He Said

"Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the LORD had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy." 2 Kings 5:1

Listen to Pesky Typos

I hate typos and, yet, I plant them in my devotions and novels. They sprout and grow, turning a section of “perfect text” into a “perfect test” for our copy editor. I’m not alone, however. In books, blogs and on billboards, typos abound. Here are a few of my favorites.

“Naomi sat on the hot, dusty earth eating rice from a rough wooden bowel.” (Hey, waiter can I get a dish of small intestine to go?)

“Every girl dreams of the perfect weeding. Let Contour Lighting make your moment shine.” (Wonder if they color roots, too?)

“The academic scholarship I earned came with a plague.” (March Madness, this time of the year.)

“Most of my experience has been as a blue-color worker.” (From the resume of a sad and cold employee.)

“As part of the city maintenance crew, I repaired bad roads and defective brides.” (Aren’t they all, after a few days with their new husband?)

“My career goal is to shave my talents with a growing company.” ( No McDreamy stubble with this guy.)

“My hobbies include raising long-eared rabbis as pets.” (Torah training extra!)

I laugh because my life is one long string of typos. During my senior year in college, I received an F on a journalism project because I misspelled the Attorney General’s name. My professor (who was also my adviser) loved the article. “But,” he said, stabbing the first paragraph of the story, “You misspelled the guy’s name. The least you could have done was to look at his name plate on the desk and copy it down correctly.”

No matter how good we think we are, our blemishes go before us, marring our reputation and turning an effective ministry or career into a public sham.

Naaman was a great leader, valiant soldier, and respected general. But, his accolades could not save him from public shame. His leprosy, left untreated, would push him to the edges of society, leaving him an outcast.

Our sin is our leprosy. It leaves us outside the Kingdom of God and beyond the bounds of Eden, because God demands perfection. He cannot tolerate typos, not even one. (See next week’s devotion for how we achieve perfection and eliminate typos.)

Writers have critique groups, friends who proof their work. Within the body of Christ, we have fellow believers who hold us accountable. Paul calls on us to confess our sins and carry each other’s burdens. Today, ask a friend to critique your life and find the typos in your testimony.

Left Out - She Said

“Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the LORD had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy.” 2 Kings 5:1

Listen to Left Out

First I knocked. Then I went from knuckle to fist pounding. “Open up. Let me in!” A shuffle of feet sounded and then laughing.

“No! Go away.”

I didn’t want to go away. I wanted to spend time with my friends, not be banned from the fun.

“Come on, please? Open up.”

“No! We voted and you’re out. Beth shoulda been the leader.”

Leaning against the wall, a tear trickled down my cheek. My name had finally rotated around to be the group leader. The announcement wasn’t an hour old before the fly-by friends sold me out for the popular girl. Group leader wasn’t an elected position, rather it rotated so everyone had an opportunity to lead…everyone but me it seemed.

Left out, I snatched up my backpack, pushed open the door and headed down the stairs. It wasn’t fair. It was my time to be the group leader, my time to shine. I just wanted to be something other than invisible, something other than...lonely.

Naaman was an elite guy, commander, highly regarded. He had everything going for him –everything but his health. It didn’t matter how special he was, how many battles he’d won, his leprosy secluded him. He was forced to be alone. And unless he was healed, nothing would change.

Years later I asked the requirements to join a prestigious writers group. When my friends avoided the question, naivety led me to assume the group was full. My friends cheered for me so I practiced my writing—even won a couple of writing contests and hoped a spot would open in the group. But when my pal finally came clean and told me the group said I "wasn't ready," (intrepretation: not good enough), my heart was broken. Not because I wasn't welcomed into the group but that no matter what I did--all the work, all the accomplishment, even the victories, meant nothing. I was still invisible, still left out.

Unlike Naaman, I wasn't secluded due to illness, but I’ve been forced out because I wasn’t "ready yet", not prestigious or clickish enough. Regardless of how hard I banged on the door, I couldn't get in.

Broken, I needed healing - cleansed of the insecurities and fears that made me feel inadequate. So I poured my heart to the Great Physician. He opened up the wounds, cleansed them and when I was ready, He proved my gift was not in being in the spotlight, but rather in being a servant. In time He healed me and revealed my special and unique gifts. Eventually I became part of this prestigious group but all it is…is a line on my resume’. After He healed me, I didn't need that group to fill the void. My place was in Him.

When you’re pushed out, ignored and shunned go to Christ for internal healing. He will shore up your skills, bring you peace and acceptance, then show you where you belong.

Eddie Jones and Cindy Sproles are friends and co-founders of ChristianDevotions.us. They co-write the popular He Said, She Said devotions and host BlogtalkRadio's Christian Devotions Speak UP! along with Scott McCausey.

And now you can catch them each Friday evening at 7 p.m. on He Said, She Said Radio! (Call in number, 646-929-0706 ). They travel with Christian Devotions Ministries teaching the art of writing devotions at writers conferences across the country. Eddie and Cindy are featured in Faith & FINANCES: In God We Trust - A Journey to Financial Dependence.



Publisher: Lighthouse Publishing
ISBN: 978-0-9822065-4-6
Price: $9.95