My husband is a really smart man. Not a “wise guy” in the “yuk, yuk, yuk, Three-Stooges” kind of way, but really and truly a very wise guy. But despite all that mega-wisdom, I have to tell you, the man is not a great speller. Fortunately, his handwriting isn’t all that clear, so no one knows what he’s spelling anyway.

I don’t like to brag, but I’m really not bad at the spelling thing myself. Of course, I doubt anyone will ever really know that for sure since I have a lot of great editors—and especially since the invention of spell-check.

But even though I’m a decent speller, every once in awhile I have a total brain meltdown and completely forget how to spell a word that I’ve spelled a gazillion times. Has that ever happened to you?

It happened to me this week on the word (of all things), COLUMNIST. No matter how I typed it, it didn’t look right. One L, two L’s, two M’s, an MB? Colummnist? Collumnist? Columbnist? COMMUNIST? No wait, that last one definitely couldn’t be right, could it? How in tarnation can I BE a columnist and forget how to spell it?

Every now and then we have to do a little life-check like that. Something that’s always been right before is challenged by someone who has a new idea and suddenly you find yourself wondering if what’s always been right before could somehow be wrong. Talk about a brain meltdown.

People are mercilessly popping up with new and strange ideas all the time. Swallowing the latest weird ideas, trying to stuff them in and make them fit with God’s truth, can short-circuit our spiritual well-being. It’s like trying to make “COLUMNIST” and “COMMUNIST” mean the same thing. It brings confusion and tries to divide loyalties in a way that results in frustration, fruitlessness and defeat.

Psalm 119:110-114 says, “Some merciless people are trying to trap me, but I never turn my back on your teachings. They will always be my most prized possession and my source of joy. I have made up my mind to obey your laws forever, no matter what. I hate anyone whose loyalty is divided, but I love your Law. You are my place of safety and my shield. Your word is my only hope” (CEV).

Unlike every trendy new idea that comes along, God’s truth is always truth. We can know now and forever that no matter what anyone else says, what God’s Word says is now and always will be true. Let’s treasure it as our “prized possession” and our “source of joy” just as the Psalmist did. There’s safety there. His Word brings great hope.

I may even write a column about that this week. And by the way, in case there’s any doubt, let me just say it plainly: I’m a C-O-L-U-M-N-I-S-T, columnist. Definitely not a Communist.

Rhonda Rhea rrhea@juno.com