I totally despise autocorrect sometimes. I sent a text today in which I typed, “I loved the pictures I have seen…” Autocorrect changed it to, “I loved the bloc tires I have seen…” What on earth does “bloc tires” mean, and why would autocorrect find that to be superior to “pictures” in its twisted little “mind”? (I know it doesn’t have a mind, but bear with my anthropomorphizing if you will. “Anthropomorphizing” is my dollar word for the day; it means assigning human traits to that which is not human.)
There are times when autocorrect is handy, like when it automatically capitalizes the word “I” or as in the sentence I just wrote where it changed my misspelling of “capitalizes” for me. However, sometimes it just arbitrarily changes things on its own. That makes the writer look really dumb, and sometimes it can be very embarrassing. (Autocorrect corrected “embarrassing” for me, by the way.)
As I thought about autocorrect and the help it gives and the confusion it can cause, for some reason, it reminded me of one of the traits that separate humans from animals—the conscience.
Autocorrect works well when it is properly set. It can save you from mistakes that totally change the meaning of what you are writing. A properly-trained conscience can do the same in our lives. It can guide us away from errors in life that can be dangerous or deadly. The Word of God is the number one source to properly train the conscience.
Autocorrect seriously fails if it does not understand the context. Many of the fails with autocorrect are because of a failure to “understand” the context of what is being written. Our consciences must be trained to be able to use the principles by which we are trained with a proper application in the context of life. For instance, our consciences can be deceived to believe that sin is okay in some circumstances; a good example is the acceptance of sexual immorality that is pressed on us from every side. Our guide is always the truth of God no matter what the context is.
Autocorrect is wrong when it acts on its own. Sometimes it won’t let me put in the word that I want to use. It changes it totally, changing my meaning. When we make decisions based solely on how we feel, what we think or what makes us happy without an examination of what the truth of God says, then we can train our consciences to act in a way contrary to what is right with God. Our consciences can ignore truth and strike out on their own. That will take us away from God.
Autocorrect only works when turned on. Despite the aggravations of autocorrect, it has helped me to write this article. You have to watch it and check that it hasn’t changed anything. Yet, it is valuable. We have to allow our well-trained consciences to help us maintain our walk with Jesus in our daily lives. Sometimes, folks decide to ignore their consciences and go it alone. Disaster is certain when that happens. We do, however, have to vigilantly watch our consciences, and adjust them to stay in line with what is right according to God’s revealed truth.
