I finished writing my revision and final draft of a paper about the vision of Jesus from the Gospel of John. It was very difficult to read the revisions from the editor the day I received them. I put hours into writing the rough draft and the revisions were almost as many pages as my paper. Then I sucked it up, dumped my pride and just started revising the paper as suggested. After about five hours of revising I had to walk away from the paper. The next day I revised it once more and was able to read the paper completely. I realized of course it was much more thorough after the revision.
It is so difficult to revise your own work objectively. It is much easier to revise someone else’s work when your pride is not involved. Revisions are so important. It is very beneficial to be able to take constructive criticism and grow from it.
My students are writing a very detailed argumentative paper about abortion or capital punishment. It is their choice. Some of my smartest students have sent me their papers for revision because they are open to changing their paper for the better. They need an objective set of eyes. If they revise their work their grades will escalate.
It is good to look at our lives and try to find the problems and repair them. However, it also good to talk to a trusted loved one and ask for a little bit of revision in our own lives to help us make ourselves better, not for a grade but for God. Of course that means we have to dump our pride and be open to growth!
