Frank J. Buchman

Cowboy • Horseman • Writer

Even Too Many Errors Is Better Than Nothing

When we’re not making mistakes, we’re not doing anything.

Somebody else said it first, but that is the case with us. Why wouldn’t it be that way? When nothing is being done, it’s virtually impossible to do wrong. There might be exceptions to the rule, such as sitting around all day or sleeping too much, but those are usually mistakes in themselves.

Our mind is generally always thinking about something, and frequently it’s not what we’re doing at the present time, which results in an error in what we’re working on. We are doing one job, thinking about the previous one and contemplating the future, whereby we’d be better off just concentrating on a single effort at a time.

Misspelled words and incorrect grammar are the most frequent boo-boos. It doesn’t make any difference how often we read our work, how many others help and even use the computer’s checking system, there is still something wrong.

Only after the computer “send” button has been pushed, the paper is off the press or the mail has been delivered do we realize what we’ve done wrong. No reprieve, but we don’t feel quite as bad when we get correspondence from others, because most of them have terrible grammar and spelling.

It’s no wonder we can’t ever get ahead in our finances, the way we work with numbers. We are constantly transposing figures; it’s supposed to be 34 and we think and sometimes even write 43. Then, we’ll figure four places, and then only down mark three spots. That’s some kind of a mental problem, but we won’t admit it.

Communication is essential to survival, and our record shows we’ve never been short, or shy, of something to say. That creates problems in itself, but things get worse when we say one thing and actually mean something else. We frequently get our tongue twisted and can’t even get out a comprehensible statement.

Some call it forgetfulness, but it’s still a blooper when we greet another by a wrong name. We do that most frequently with our grandson; we address him by his dad’s name or call him “son.” Others we’ve addressed by a brother, father or relative’s name, and still can’t recall many longtime friends’ monikers. “Hi there” seems to be the safest greeting.

The list goes on and on: breaking the pitchfork handle, twisting the nut off a bolt, bending the nail, driving off with the trailer unhooked but lights still attached, locking the keys in the car, forgetting where the pliers were put, running out of gas, running over a board with staples in it, and spurring a colt the first time out of the pen, etc.

In every situation where we make mistakes, we wouldn’t be wrong if we weren’t at least doing something. Somebody tried to make an excuse: “You have to learn.” We appreciate that opinion, but we know we’ll continue to make blunders, more than our share, and we always will as long as we’re doing something.

An excuse is recorded in Proverbs 19:2: “Haste makes mistakes.” We’re not alone as in James 3:2: “Indeed, we all make many mistakes.” Fortunately for Ecclesiastes 10:4: “A quiet spirit can overcome even great mistakes.” But, Jesus warns us in Mark 12:24: “Your mistake is you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God.”

+++ALLELUIA+++

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