The Plumbline

Don’t pay back anyone for their evil actions with evil actions, but show respect for what everyone else believes is good. If possible, to the best of your ability, live at peace with all people. Don’t try to get revenge for yourselves, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath. It is written, Revenge belongs to me; I will pay it back, says the Lord. Instead, If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink. By doing this, you will pile burning coals of fire upon his head. Don’t be defeated by evil, but defeat evil with good. (Romans 12:17-21) The "payback" for some of our misdeeds or meddling into affairs we should have left alone may be coming! I have learned that payback is really not something I like or want! When I stop going where I shouldn't, others might stop going where they shouldn't. Why do they stop? They no longer have to "pay back" the misdeeds of others. I think God wants us to engage in active forgiveness, and allow ...

 David had a great military commander naemd Joab. Joab was actually a bit of a 'hothead' in that he did what he wanted, often being quite ruthless in battle. He was feared by many and respected by those he commanded. Every king of those days had heard of the 'fierceness' of David's armies. They were able to overcome great armies and take much plunder as a result of the battles won. There came a time when David wanted peace with those around him - knowing they were aware of the 'greatness' of David's military force and his capabilities to overtake them if he wanted to. Abner was one such leader he desired a 'peace treaty' with - the commander of the armies that belonged to Saul at the time. He no longer wanted 'war' between the people of Judah and Israel. So, he reached out to form a 'peace pact'. As he did, Joab was off doing something else and did not know of the peace treaty. When he returned home and heard of this having occurr...

A gentle answer will calm a person’s anger, but an unkind answer will cause more anger. (Proverbs 15:1) Our answers matter, so perhaps this is why God asks us to take time to consider the words we deliver. They can build us up, giving us just the right amount of encouragement to take a step forward. They can also tear us down, anchoring us even further into the doubts and frustrations we have at the moment. If we become angered with one another, it could be out of frustration, or even a feeling like we have lost some 'control' in the matter. When things cause us to 'spin' into anger, we say things we might have never intended to say. It is like a leaky pipe, at first not noticed, but eventually it will burst, leaving damage in its wake. All of us get a little irritated at times, no matter how 'godly' we are. It isn't that we have a lifestyle of anger, it is just that we have moments when we are overly tired or overwhelmed by life, and our response may be a ...

Go ahead and be angry. You do well to be angry—but don’t use your anger as fuel for revenge. And don’t stay angry. Don’t go to bed angry. Don’t give the Devil that kind of foothold in your life. (Ephesians 4:26-27) Have you ever wondered if it was a sin to be 'angry' with others or situations in your life? There is no victory in being offended, but I know we all have those moments when we get ticked off and let our anger have the rule of our lives. As a matter of fact, there is almost always a loss with each anger episode. It is inevitable that we will be offended by someone at some time - we make a choice to respond by becoming angry, nurturing the offense, and giving Satan a foothold in our lives. A foothold is a 'place' or a 'room' - so you give Satan a place in your life where he has more than a bit of room to work within us. We don't want to give anger a foothold - it destroys relationships and brings division that is sometimes irreparable. Living in an...

Over the last several years, the Arizona, California, and New Mexico forests have had their share of challenging fires. Some ignited by man, others ignited by nature, but all very damaging in their effects. Fire has a way of "catching" and "taking hold" quicker than we can imagine. A few week's ago, we had a fire in a neighboring area just outside of the town limits where I live. There were homes lost to the ravages of the licking flames - some for human dwelling, others for the creatures of the desert that made their sanctuary those scrub grasses, cacti, and now scarred juniper trees. The destruction of one spark resulted in the complete devastation of a huge area - leaving nothing but a 'fire scar'. Fire is indeed not a thing to be taken lightly, especially when it might be the result of the words we have spoken! A gentle response defuses anger,  but a sharp tongue kindles a temper-fire.  (Proverbs 15:1 MSG)    Temper-fires are those moments in time wh...

A gentle response defuses anger, but a sharp tongue kindles a temper-fire. (Proverbs 15:1) It is fire season here in Arizona - summer storms bringing lightning strikes that catch very dry timber on fire very easily. With the approaching monsoon season, the winds begin to pick up and the afternoon winds seem to carry those embers to new areas very easily, allowing the fire to spread sometimes with wild abandon. Add to this the complexity of rocky crags that make doing any kind of fire-line breaks almost impossible and you have the makings of very resistive fires. What the firefighters seem to dread more than anything is that weather report indicating the winds will pick up, or never die down for long periods of time. Why? They realize every wind gust means longer days and nights of fighting that fire! Gentle breezes are one thing, but the gusts of our rainy season are another. Gentle breezes mean you might just get ahead of the fire's spread. The billowing gusts of up to 60 mph sign...

I once heard it said climbing a hill is a great challenge, until you recognize there is just another hill beyond that one, and another, and another, and so on. The hills just never really stop - even the flattest of places is marked by some spot that makes another a little higher or lower than the other. Hills are not 'high places' all the time. Sometimes they are our 'lowest'! Ever run across an individual that just seems contrary in all they do? There is just no pleasing them because they find fault with everything and love to quarrel over the smallest or lowest of things. There is a word for these type of individuals - fools! A fool loves to pick a fight - to find a hill and then mark out one's stand upon it. It is a mark of honor (of good character) to avoid a fight. I am not implying that we actually live in a state of existence where we go through life without ever saying a cross word or entering into constructive debate periodically. Yet, a man or woman of go...

The truth of the matter is that it is a continual challenge to both listen carefully to the wisdom being laid out in scripture and then to take it to heart - to allow it to affect our actions. The scripture often gifts us with "sterling principles" by which to live - more than advice to be considered, but rather principles by which our lives become principled. These are tested guidelines to live by - guidelines that will hold us accountable in our daily walk and will help our walk to be marked by consistency. One such principle is to make wise choices about those you walk with on this journey. Don't hang out with angry people; don't keep company with hotheads. Bad temper is contagious—don't get infected.   (Proverbs 22:24-25) This is a pretty stern warning to avoid hanging out with the wrong company - angry people and hotheads. This isn't just a suggestion - it is a command - DON'T do it! Angry people are generally miserable people to be around, just i...

Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. ( James 1:19   NLT ) Do you know anybody who can go from "chill" to "overkill" in somewhere under 30 seconds? Uh oh...did I just hear someone say, "Yep, that's me"? You aren't alone, my friend - there are lots and lots of us, sometimes more than we want to admit, that can lose our cool quicker than ice melts on an Arizona sidewalk in summer! Most of the time, the challenge isn't in not reacting - it is in choosing what it is we will react to. Three concepts are outlined in our passage here, but before we explore these, let's look at something that gets overlooked - the introduction to these words. James has just spent some time speaking about how God blesses those who endure testing and temptation with something called patience. He adds to that thought the reminder it is "when" we are tempted, not "if...

Marcus Aurelius was an emperor of Rome during the second century, but is noted for being one of the "last good ones" of that era. His main "call to fame" are his writings or "meditations" on dedicated service and uncompromising duty - being a great warrior and temperate leader himself. He was what has been coined a philosopher of stoicism - living with a strong commitment to self-restraint, the heartfelt respect of others, and a compelling duty to one's country. He was known as the ruler who lives a temperate life and was pretty much uncompromising in his principles. One of his statements pretty much sums up his philosophy of living: " How much more are the consequences of anger than the causes of it ." His understanding of this truth may have made him one of the last "good emperors" of his time - because those who came after him actually didn't adhere to some of the valued principles he upheld. One of my favorite quotes from hi...

A  single  correction makes a more lasting impression on one who is wise  than a hundred lashes do on a fool.  (Proverbs 17:10 VOICE) Just before this verse comes the instruction about forgiveness - it fosters love whenever forgiveness is extended in sincerity. I think people who are open to correction are also very forgiving people - first because they have learned to admit to their own wrongs and forgive themselves, as well as being able to not hold another in a position of "owing" them for any misdeeds. Bitter people are seldom delighted to embrace correction - especially the first time they hear it. They want to justify their position of being angry with another, so they just hold onto their position (right or wrong) and let the juices eat at them a while. As the rest of the passage goes, it reminds us of the need to release others because holding onto a thousand wrongs done by the other person only makes us very bitter people.  It is almost like it chai...

" Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured ." (Mark Twain)   Whoever is  patient and  slow to  anger  shows great understanding, but whoever has a quick temper magnifies his foolishness.  (Proverbs 14:29 VOICE) I haven't met too many people in my lifetime who actually can admit truthfully to not struggling with anger once in a while, if nor more frequently.  Most of us actually get ourselves worked up about things, people, and events which are totally out of our control.  What's up with that?  Things or people out of our control become the very thing which "breaks" our control!  Ever made someone go from "zero to sixty" in like six seconds of less and later regretted whatever it was you said or did which triggered that reactive anger response?  You just kind of stand there, almost broadsided by the response and then you wonder why they got so "wigged ...

The relationship woes of today's society are too innumerable to even recount. Suffice it to say we have a lot of work to do when it comes to relationships! We cannot seem to commit.  There is tension caused by too many distractions and individualize pursuits.  The media encourages conflict and break-up.  The lack of true depth in relationship created by a "mobile" society and reduced time actually spent "relating" to one another the "good old fashioned way" is just another among many of the issues we face.  I don't pretend to be a relationship expert, because I have my own issues which get in the way of developing solid and founded relationships!  One thing I do know is that we can glean truth from the Word of God which will help us to develop foundation within relationship - truth which will give us "anchor" and hold us steady when things come into our relationships to distract or divide us. You have heard that it was said to our pe...

Yesterday we began our study into the thirty principles Solomon laid out which he indicated as an indicator of our trust in God - if we live by these principles, then our foundation will be one of trust.  They also act as principles which will help to hold us accountable for our actions and attitudes.  Today, we explore the second in these principles - the company we keep.  As you may recall, we explored our attitude toward those who have "need" or "weakness" in their lives yesterday.  This attitude determines a great deal as it comes to how we interact within the "boundaries" of Christian love or not.  Today, it is the company we keep - those who we associate with the most - which we will explore.  Why is this important?  Wrong relationships are as dangerous as wind is to fire.  Pick the wrong ones to engage with and you will find your world set on fire, but not a fire you can control! Don’t hang out with angry people;   don’t keep compa...

Ever think of your words as a lighted fuse?  Or perhaps the detonator within a time-bomb?  Well, if we were honest, we all could say a resounding "yes" to this one.  Sometimes we possess the right words to stop the fuse from igniting the "explosive" it is dangerously close to releasing.  At others, we just watch foolishly as the fuse grows smaller and smaller until it culminates in a huge "boom".  What is left in the wake of the explosion is sometimes quite difficult to put back together.  Sure, all the pieces may be there, but some of them are almost unrecognizable because of the significance of the "blast" which caused them to break apart in the first place.  We find ourselves as the "bomb squad", tasked with the responsibility of going about defusing the bombs set to explode at any moment.  This is a huge skill to learn and one wrong move can result in devastating consequences.  So, if we are to learn the skill well, we need to pract...

Ever find yourself working up to a good outburst - that anger just bubbling up within?  You know better, but somehow the events of the day just seem to be working on you until you are about to blow!  It is an emotion we oftentimes want to have little less of and a lot more control over, right?  Many times we almost respond without thinking, then end up "mopping up" what damage this emotion can produce after the fact.  I want us to consider something different about anger today - the ability of anger to get us moving in a new direction. There are times when we just don't move off our mark until something makes us angry enough to move.  I can be all cozy on the couch with a mosquito buzzing about my head for hours.  Until that thing sets down, drops down its pointy "proboscis" (that biting instrument) deep into your flesh and begins to suck your blood.  Now, you are mad!  You might just swat it away the first time, but when it comes back for seconds...

Ever feel like you have a "personal enemy" just lurking at your back?  You know, that eerie feeling that you just cannot escape some sense of doom and gloom that hangs heavy over your head?  Yep, we all go through that on occasion - no matter how "spiritual" we are!  Guess what - we DO have a personal enemy - he is called Satan.  His mission in life is to make our life miserable as much as possible - especially if we have committed to living by the principles laid out in scripture and entered into the grace God extends through the life of Christ.  He makes it his point to muster his forces to attempt to dissuade us from that pursuit.  Here's the good news - you'd not be the object of his attacks if you weren't living the way Jesus wants you to! Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping. Keep your guard up. You’re not the only ones plunged into these hard times. It’s the same wit...

I am going to ask some hard questions this morning, so if you aren't up to it, you might want to skip this one!  First, let me just remind you of the fact that before I ask you these questions, I have had to ask myself.  I survived!  You probably will, too. So, here goes... How many times do you find yourself telling of your own pain without ever once stopping to ask about another's?  Have you ever been caught up in your own list of "disappointing moments", enumerating them one-by-one for another to hear, all the while oblivious to the fact the other may have their own recent disappointments?  What about the times when all you could do was find fault with some person or idea, just ragging on and on about the "reasons why" the person is so "flawed" or the idea is so "dumb"?  If you have ever been "caught" in any of these moments - as the one who has to listen to the "complaint", dear "complainer", you probab...