John Locke, an English philosopher and physician once remarked: “Error is not a fault of our knowledge, but a mistake of our judgment giving assent to that which is not true.” Romans 2:1 confirms: “Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things.”
Aberration is defined as a departure from what is normal, usual, or expected, typically an unwelcome one. It can include human errors which many of us are probably subjected to from time to time. Mistakes can happen without warning, if we are driving a car and misjudge the speed or anticipated direction of another vehicle, then accidents can occur over which we have no control. These may or may not be serious, depending on the circumstances. However, if we falsely judge another without due regard to the actual facts or circumstances, then we may cause much unnecessary harm to an innocent person. Revelation 22:18-19 warns: “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.”
There is a well-known saying that states: "There is always someone worse off than you." Psalm 73:1-17 relates the story of a righteous man who misjudges others as he feels that he is the only person in the world who is under sufferance. Verses 1-2 state: "Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped.” He mistakenly judges that everyone else is better off than him. Verses 4-7 state: “For they have no pangs until death; their bodies are fat and sleek. They are not in trouble as others are; they are not stricken like the rest of mankind. Therefore pride is their necklace; violence covers them as a garment. Their eyes swell out through fatness; their hearts overflow with follies.” Verses 10-12 state: “Therefore his people turn back to them, and find no fault in them. And they say, “How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?” Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches.” He concludes, why should he suffer when others don’t appear to? They have everything in life and he has nothing. That he believes is unfair. God appears to be singling him out when he is the righteous one. Why?
This produces jealousy. What he doesn't realize is that everyone normally suffers from problems during life whether they be rich or poor. To decipher incorrect assumptions of another is not Godly thinking. It was once remarked: “As you breathe right now, another takes their last. So stop complaining and learn to live your life with what you’ve got.” John 5:24 confirms: “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.”
In days gone by, a typewriter was considered a valuable and useful instrument to own. These days, it has largely been replaced by computers and electronic word processors. They have always been deemed an essential asset for businesses to enable them to prepare formal letters, bills, contracts and the like. However, there has always been one major drawback susceptible to typewriters, they are subjective to human error. If a mistake in the typing is made, very often that particular sheet of paper has to be ripped up and typed again. Thus, perfection in the faultless preparation of documentation is essential to good typing skills. This not only saves wastage of paper, but increases the speed of production. 2 Timothy 3:16 reminds us: “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.”
A typewriter is defined as a machine with keys for producing alphabetical characters, numerals and typographical symbols one at a time on paper inserted around a roller. The typewriter was the invention of Christopher Latham Sholes of Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1867. The first commercial typewriter was manufactured in 1873 and was mounted on a sewing machine stand. A typical keyboard layout is commonly called “QWERTY,” which corresponds to the order of the first six letter keys on the keyboard. These are usually located close to the top of the machine. Many typewriters are intended for use on desktops, however, many portable versions have been introduced to aid those who are frequently on the move.
For those with poor writing legibility, a typewriter is of considerable benefit, except for typographical errors. It allows for thoughts for television scripts, novels, letters and the like to be presented clearly and legibly without the difficulty of ascertaining what a particular hand-written word might be trying to state. Deciphering becomes an easy task for those reading the final draft and allows the intended meaning to become unambiguous.
James Arthur Baldwin, an American writer and activist once remarked: "If I spend weeks and months avoiding my typewriter - and I do, sharpening pencils, trying to avoid going where I know I've got to go - then one has got to use this to learn humility. Habakkuk 2:2 confirms: "And the Lord answered me: “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it.”
Sylvia had worked for the past two years in a typing pool for a company based in Liverpool. She was an accomplished typist often attaining word speeds in excess of one hundred and twenty words per minute. Everyone thought highly of her and her accuracy was not only considered excellent but extremely reliable.
Although she was not assigned to a particular executive, her immediate boss, the General Manager of the firm, depended heavily on her if he needed important documents typing speedily, as she was renowned as the fastest typist that the company possessed. She enjoyed her work and was often independently approached by Directors after working hours, to type urgently required important documents that were needed with good accuracy.
She was often prepared to stay late in the office if the company had a specific task that required completion as soon as possible. She had a pleasant disposition and was always polite and courteous to everyone. She was happily married to her husband Geoff, with two adorable children.
One particular evening, she was asked to stay late and type a fifty-page urgent draft contract for a special client which she completed in a few hours. Upon presentation of the completed documents to the line manager, the pages were proofread and found to contain not one typing error, which was considered an outstanding competency. She was praised by management for her achievement. However, this caused jealousy from her fellow typists as they were envious of her skills.
Shortly afterward, the personal secretary to the Managing Director left to seek alternative employment and Sylvia was immediately offered the position with a significant salary increase. Through her hard work, she eventually attained the position of personal secretarial assistant to the chairman of the company. Matthew 10:31 reminds us: “Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.”
Amen.
