The Plumbline

I know a great many people who have developed this skill of answering a question with another question, as though that 'answers' anything. In some circles, such as counseling, this is a common occurrence - the questions asked are designed to get the person to come to a conclusion about the answer themselves so that they begin to problem solve through the situation. There are times when the most appropriate answer is indeed another question. If your child asks you why they have to eat their vegetables, do you think answering, "Because I told you to", is the best answer? It is highly likely the child will allow those veggies to just grow cold on the plate. If the parent was heard saying, "Johnnie, what do you think is the reason you should eat your vegetables?", what do you suppose they might receive as a reply? Perhaps the parent would hear the response, "Because if I don't, I will never get to watch TV this evening." If the parent hears th...

Listen, open your ears, harness your desire to speak, and don’t get worked up into a rage so easily, my brothers and sisters.   (James 1:19 VOICE) Sometimes the hardest thing we are called upon to do is just be quiet long enough to hear somebody else share their worries, intentions, fears, or ideas.  We "scroll ahead" in our minds, coming up with the right answer, catchy come-back, and the like, often totally missing what the other person is actually saying.  To "open our ears", some might say we have to shut our mouths, but I don't think simply shutting the mouth opens the ears.  We have strong winds here in Arizona at times, but closing the door doesn't keep the wind from blowing - it just stops the wind from getting in. We can shut our mouths and still have our minds working a mile a minute to come up with that come-back, or the idea that will "one up" the other guy! Look what our passage implies: We have to "harness" the desir...