PROOFREAD THIS June 28, 2020

In my first job as staff in an internal audit and corporate affairs office 24 years ago (when I was still barely 20 by the way), I had experienced a bit of proofreading work, especially when preparing documents for submission to and compliance with regulatory agencies.  I have to admit, it was boring and tedious.  But it was serious too.  One erroneous word, if not corrected in time, could entail rework, recopies, or worse—even fines and penalties.

As I go through life, I realize that most of us hate correction.  And it is understandable, because it is something that disrupts the usual way we do things.  Further, it helps us and other people see our weaknesses and inadequacies, and that hurts the ego.  However, like the first work I did, it is ultimately beneficial because it prevents us from doing worse damage in the future.

The Word today in the book of Psalms chapter 141 shares with us the Psalmist’s views on correction and discipline.  In verses 1 and 2 he invokes GOD and appeals with his prayers and sacrifice.  In verse 3 however, we see the first thing he believes that needs godly correction—his mouth, or literally, the words he speaks.  This is consistent with the rest of scripture which tells us that GOD’s will for us is to be careful with the word we speak (and in social media age, write) to others, because indeed, if not corrected properly and allowed to be laden with ignorance and bias, they could only lead to hurt, resentment, chaos, brokenness and damage.  I wonder as we scroll through our feeds, watch and read the news, and make comments, posts and replies, how many of us are truly watchful of our language?  We even see world leaders as not doing well in this aspect too, and maybe this is the reason why some ordinary people are emboldened to hurt others with their words, and smear their reputation, or even make serious threats, not realizing the consequences of their words.

Verse 4 has the Psalmist praying that may he not listen to any evil thing, or to do wicked works with sinful people, or to commune with them.  Today is Sunday.  I am wondering how many of us Christians remember that today is what we call the Lord’s day, and make any attempt to listen to sermons or view videos that declare to us the message of GOD’s Word, since not all of us can literally go to church because of the lockdowns and quarantine protocols?  I also wonder how many of us just ignore or pass up opportunities to listen to songs of praise and worship that uplift our spirits, and instead stream or hear only those kinds of music that appeal to our emotions, our desires and our personal wants?

Verses 5 and 6 show us that the Psalmist prefers being corrected by godly or righteous people, because he knows it will only benefit him, and is actually kindness; for which he will recompense with prayers and encouragement in return, when those people will be in a similar position as him.  As I said earlier, many of us really do not want to be corrected, even if the corrections and criticisms are meant to prove and strengthen us.  Some of us resent immediately, and put up our guards, questioning the credibility of those who called our attention, thinking that we may be better than them, so how dare they critique what we do or say, or how we do things?

In the last four verses of the chapter, the Psalmist appeals again to GOD, for those people who might masquerade as well-meaning friends but are actually only after his destruction.  And many of us can relate to this too, not only from those whom we thought we could trust, but even from people we look up to and believed to have our best interest at heart, but actually are only looking out for their own gain.  It shows us that the only one we could truly look up to, in the face of not being able to really tell what people think of us, or their own motivations as they work with us, is GOD Himself.

Because every day is a struggle, and none of us is perfect yet, we still need to be corrected and make improvements in how we live.  May we not hold it against those who criticize us or call our attention to what they perceive we might be lacking in.  As it is, we can take the lesson, and not hold on to any form of resentment on the hurtful words because it is useless. Instead, if we want to grow and mature, we need to open ourselves up to correction and discipline.  If we want to have a greater future and a better life ahead, we really need to let GOD and the people He sends our way (friends or foe) proofread the stories of our lives.  It would help us greatly not only in this lifetime but even beyond.