Do you recognize these two words? Gradutate. Psammophile.
The first one was printed on over 600 graduation stoles of seniors at Rich Township High School. Did you catch it? They misspelled “graduate” by adding a “T.” Oops.
The school responded with a letter admitting they didn’t check the stoles before the graduation ceremony, and would photoshop the gaffe from graduation pictures.
The second word, “psammophile,” is activating my spell check right now but is a legit word. It’s in the dictionary. Dev Shah, an eighth-grader from Largo, Florida, spelled “psammophile” correctly to win the 95th Scripps National Spelling Bee and the $50,000 prize on Thursday
What’s a psammophile? An organism that prefers or lives in sandy environments.
Other words that Shah correctly spelled during the competition include: bathypitotmeter, tolsester, rommack, aegagrus, schistorrhachis, poliorcetics, Perioeci, exhortation, cocomat and ardoise.
Of those 10 words, 8 of them are blowing up my spell check right now. But they’re all legit. Bottom line: you can’t rely perfectly on spell check.
Recently our Grow Group at CrossLife Church addressed a concern expressed by many: the Bible has errors. It’s written by people, after all, and then copied by other people, and then translated, and then printed. So, there have to be typos, right?
Actually, no. The Bible was indeed written by humans, but produced and directed by God.
The words, stories, messages and truths in the Bible are not the writer’s “own interpretation of things” like almost all news and media is these days. Rather, the Bible writers, “though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:20,21).
Simply put, the Bible is a miraculous work of God. Over 40 authors wrote it, over a span of 15 centuries, covering hundreds of controversial topics—and they don’t disagree with one another. Ever.
Clearly the work of someone coordinating the project behind the scenes. Indeed. God and his perfect spell check.
Looking for a refreshing break from slanted news and media? Looking for certainty about what to believe? Looking for promises always kept?
Start reading the Bible. Then read the Bible more often. Then meet with a small group and go to church regularly. You may not win the next spelling bee by spelling one of the biggest words in the Bible, “Mahershalalhashbaz” (Isaiah 8:1), but you’ll learn some powerful promises and absolutely reliable answers.
PRAYER: Thank you for your perfect Word in the Bible. Make its reliability and power more known and appreciated. Use it to spell-check my thoughts, plans and beliefs. Correct me where needed. Guide me into your perfect purposes. Amen.
EVANGELISM ACTION: Share a spell-check story with a friend who needs Jesus, then share this blog. Ask them if they believe the Bible is reliable or not, and why. Just listen and seek to understand.