Grammar Vigilantes
Suppose for a moment you were driving down the highway in Seattle and saw a sign advertising "dillettante chocolates." What would be your reaction? Would you be hungry for chocolate candy, wonder what dillettante meant, or wondering what you were doing reading advertisements in Seattle, WA, when you should be in Lovington, NM? Would you have noticed that dillettante is not a word at all but, rather, a misspelling of dilettante (amateur, dabbler, non-specialist)? Maybe that would not bother you but what about a placard urging tourists to bring their "camera's"?
Two men decided to travel across the country and see how many public "typos" they could find and correct. They have now written a book about their experience as "Grammar Vigilantes." While the article about them says they were careful to get permission to correct the signs, that might have occurred only after they were fined $3,000 for defacing a sign in Yellowstone National Park without authorization. Although there was no mention of the total number of signs that were corrected, it had to be a huge undertaking.
There was nothing spiritual about the work the pair were doing but there were some interesting things about their trip that can help us draw some conclusions about our spiritual relationships. First, some people welcomed their efforts and were grateful for the help they offered. Second, some people were just irritated and actually threatened them with physical harm. Third, even though they made a tremendous number of corrections they did not even begin to get them all.
Some people desire to know how to have a "corrected" relationship with God, others do not, but either way the work is never done. The world is in no great need of "grammar vigilantes," but it is in desperate need of people who will live for Jesus.
Love ya,
Suppose for a moment you were driving down the highway in Seattle and saw a sign advertising "dillettante chocolates." What would be your reaction? Would you be hungry for chocolate candy, wonder what dillettante meant, or wondering what you were doing reading advertisements in Seattle, WA, when you should be in Lovington, NM? Would you have noticed that dillettante is not a word at all but, rather, a misspelling of dilettante (amateur, dabbler, non-specialist)? Maybe that would not bother you but what about a placard urging tourists to bring their "camera's"?
Two men decided to travel across the country and see how many public "typos" they could find and correct. They have now written a book about their experience as "Grammar Vigilantes." While the article about them says they were careful to get permission to correct the signs, that might have occurred only after they were fined $3,000 for defacing a sign in Yellowstone National Park without authorization. Although there was no mention of the total number of signs that were corrected, it had to be a huge undertaking.
There was nothing spiritual about the work the pair were doing but there were some interesting things about their trip that can help us draw some conclusions about our spiritual relationships. First, some people welcomed their efforts and were grateful for the help they offered. Second, some people were just irritated and actually threatened them with physical harm. Third, even though they made a tremendous number of corrections they did not even begin to get them all.
Some people desire to know how to have a "corrected" relationship with God, others do not, but either way the work is never done. The world is in no great need of "grammar vigilantes," but it is in desperate need of people who will live for Jesus.
Love ya,