“Thanks, I Needed That!”

This morning Peter and I pulled up behind the resale shop downtown to unload some items. As we carried in the boxes, a man who had been working in the alley informed me, “Your front tire is low.”

I thanked him, and a few minutes later we had the inflater connected and the pressure back to normal.

That stranger did me a real favor. Otherwise, I might have ruined the tire.

Another example

If I ask others to proofread my writing, should I hope they won’t find any errors, even if there are some?

If there’s a mistake, I want to know it.

Other more objective eyes could see what mine had overlooked.

But what if it starts getting personal?

Would I be just as grateful to someone for pointing out a serious shortcoming in my life that needs correcting?

Even when correction is gently given (Galatians 6:1-2), why do we humans so often get defensive and feel resentful when we could really benefit from constructive criticism?

It is no time to lash back with, “Judge not that ye be not judged.”

Is our pride showing?

What if the apostle Peter had taken offense when Jesus or Paul had to correct him?

Instead he grew.

David had the humility to admit, “I have sinned against the LORD” when the prophet Nathan rebuked him for his sins (2 Samuel 12:13).

Instead of resenting he repented.

On another occasion David wrote, “Let the righteous smite me in kindness and reprove me; it is oil upon the head; do not let my head refuse it . . .” (Psalm 145:5).

This old head needs a dose of oil occasionally.

How about yours?

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB: http://www.lockman.org/

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A Proofreader–How We Need One!

Error overlooked

In proofing my work, my mind sometimes plays tricks on me so that what I see is what I meant to write, not what I actually wrote.

On a moral level, this too can happen: aware of others’ shortcomings; blind to our own.

Error exposed

Like a mirror, the Scriptures reveal how God sees us—so we can make needed changes (James 1:22-25; Revelation 3:14-22).

In writing, I want to find my mistakes so I can correct them. But what about my life? Am I as motivated to discover my failures and correct them?

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way” (Psalm 139:23-24–emphasis added).

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB: http://www.lockman.org/

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david_gibson6@yahoo.com