I was reading a blog today of another writer who referenced a verse I was familiar with. It is one of my favorite verses in fact, and I immediately knew that she had given the wrong citation for the passage. I looked just to make sure and, sure enough, she had inverted the chapter and the verse. My immediate response was a kind of triumph that I had spotted this error on this famous author's page. As I thought about it, however, I was soon thinking about all the times I have misspoke, mistyped or misinformed people. While I did these things by accident, I am sure that some people noticed at the time and simply gave me grace knowing that my intentions were right and that if I had not been careless I would have said the correct thing.
We should never take joy in pointing out the mistakes of others. It is natural to want to prove that we are right and to take pride in correctness, but it is not the way of Christ. We should desire truth because it sets people free and not because it makes us look more wise or gives us more authority. Living in the right ways, if we are not careful, can produced an alienating pride. We should instead allow the truth of what we practice to produce humility and a godly worldview.
