Comprised
Steve Hartman reports that “Bryan Henderson’s story is
comprised of a single obsession: the misuse of the phrase ‘comprised of.’ As in — an ax is comprised of a handle and a
head. It’s supposed to be ‘composed
of.’”
Henderson says emphatically: “There’s no such thing as
comprised of.”
Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary informs us that
Henderson’s assertion has been debated and that “if you wish to avoid
criticism…, you may want to choose a safer synonym such as compose or make up.”
Henderson has dedicated a lot of his time and energy to
correct the misuse of the phrase. Over a
four-year period, this computer engineer from San Jose, California searched for
every instance of “comprised of” on Wikipedia – the 36 million page online
encyclopedia. He found – and corrected –
more than 16,000 references. According
to the way the incorrect phrase was used in the sentence, Henderson would
insert “composed of” or “comprised” (without the “of”) to give the intended
meaning. Henderson has also written a
computer program that instantly roots out any entries of the phrase into the
pages of Wikipedia. *
By way of application, we must acknowledge this truth:
each of our lives is comprised of composed of (or contains) sin. “For ALL have sinned and fall short of the
glory of God” (Romans 3:23). This is not
a matter of semantics; it’s a matter of life and death: “For the wages of sin
is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans
6:23).
But here is the Good News: even though we have sinned, God loves us and
wants to save us from sin. He gave His
Son Jesus – the sinless Son of God – to die on the cross for our sins so that
we can live eternally with Him in heaven (John 3:16). “In Him we have redemption through His blood,
the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Ephesians 1:7).
God has promised to save and give the gift of eternal
life to us when we place our faith and trust in Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), turn
from our sin in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confess Jesus before men (Romans
10:9-10), and are baptized (immersed) into Christ for the forgiveness of sins
(Acts 2:38). Then, as we walk in the
light of His Word, the blood of Jesus will continue to cleanse us from all sin (1
John 1:7).
Rather than being lost, separated from God, and doomed to
destruction because of our sins (Isaiah 59:1-2; Matthew 7:13-14), God desires
that our lives consist of forgiveness, fellowship with God, and the hope of
eternal life that comes through Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17-21; Titus 3:7).
Won’t YOU accept His offer of salvation and life on His
terms?
-- David A. Sargent
* “Man’s Wikipedia Crusade Turns Him into Grammar Hero”
by Steve Hartman on CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley, CBS News,
May 1, 2015.
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