PROOFREADING AND THE LIFE OF FAITH
It's something we are all taught in our school, something especially those of us who write for a living should always have at the forefront of our consciousness before publishing an item. This discipline is even more crucial in the age of (anti-)social media, where once you hit the 'send' button, there's no unringing that bell.
This discipline is something that usually comes to me AFTER I've published something (in text or verbal form) and Erin has had a chance to peruse it.
It hit me again when I got home Monday and I was visiting with Erin about the email I sent to you all concerning worship. When I asked Erin what she thought, her reply was, "Good, although there were a couple of typos here and there." I was already expecting this, as I had spotted one or two myself in subsequent readings.
The problem, you see, is that I violated rule number one of my own proofreading discipline - read out loud or to yourself the entirety of the message after compilation and before distribution. In most all my work, the typos are things I would catch if I but would take the time to...well, you get the point.
What does this have to do with how we live out our Christian faith? Well, two things come to mind rather quickly:
When we take time to look back over things before we execute, maybe, just maybe, something that needs modifying will catch our eye and we can make necessary adjustments.
Allowing others to 'proofread' our lives allows us to have a third-party also examine our thoughts, words, and deeds to see if they are in accordance with the faith we proclaim.
There are some things we cannot outsource - just because a document doesn't have any spelling errors does not mean there are no proofing issues, so let us not get too cocky in off-loading to others the responsibility we have to live as Christ intends.
Part of the great gift that is the church is Christ's awareness that we are not able to live a life in accordance with God's will when we life solitary lives detached from the community of faith, which is one of the reasons he formed the church on Pentecost Sunday. We need people to whom we have given permission to 'proofread' our lives not only for our sake but the sake of others.
Have a GREAT week!
Grace and Peace,
Lamar