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 TyposI 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.
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.
