Well it finally made the CBC news, so it must be true! A recent news article stated that bad grammar is clogging university essays. It points to the experience of the University of Waterloo, where students must pass an English language proficiency examination. I know this to be true, as I was forced to take this exam when I was a student there decades ago. Presently, the problem is that 30 percent of students fail to pass at even the minimum level. Moreover, the failure rate has increased 5 percent over the past few years. The main reason for the students’ failure is due to not understanding basic grammar. One professor mentions that “texting” is becoming a problem. The language used to send electronic messages, especially on cell phones, often uses short forms and misspellings. It also disregards capital letters and punctuation. The professor mentions that students are using commas as if they were sprinkling parmesan cheese! The only bright spot with technology is the invention of “spell-check”, but it is not evidently a complete solution.
So, who is to blame? Well the usual suspects are found as excuses. There seems to be a diminished stress on educational academic standards. Modern thinking sometimes perceives the striving for excellence as exclusionary or just old-fashioned. The result of this “feel good” attitude appears to be mediocrity. 
Another problem is our “quick fix” mode of thinking. You find examples of this thinking in automobile repair. Instead of just fixing the small part of a unit, it is easier and quicker to just replace the whole unit. Thus, nothing is truly repaired. It is just replaced. If you doubt this attitude, just try to remember that last time you sent your toaster out to be repaired. Quick fixes are not going to work for language skills. In order to write well, one must also read extensively. The classics have great examples of complex sentences. Yet, today our attention would be diverted after the first subordinate clause.
Both of these problems reflect the lack of balance in our lives today. All those gadgets have replaced a good book that can absorb us in its plot and characters. Is true literacy just too overwhelming in a lifestyle filled with “busyness”? Perhaps it requires too much focus and attention. Perhaps it requires too much discipline. Whatever the excuse, the facts are all in this article, and the results are not encouraging. Now, I want you to fit the Bible into this picture. It’s overwhelming. It’s complicated. The language is difficult, especially if you read the King James Version. Moreover, its solution to the world’s problems requires a lot of discipline. Thus, it is also obvious that Biblical illiteracy is increasing even among Christians, and the excuses are the same as we find in Canadian universities. I know that my Biblical literacy necessitates a balance of action and academics, prayer and participation. It is not a right. It is my responsibility. Therefore, a personal lifestyle change is necessary, along with its accompanying change in personal priorities. I wonder if the secular world will come up with a similar answer to its version of the problem.