The Plumbline

Fools hate to be told they are wrong, so they refuse to ask wise people for advice. Intelligent people want more knowledge, but fools only want more nonsense. (Proverbs 15:12, 14) Before we begin, let me assure you that I was a fool for a long, long time. I hated to be told I was wrong, refusing correction, not believing I could learn anything from the situations at hand. I continued in my folly until one day God asked me if I liked looking and behaving like a fool. As you might imagine, I even argued with God about my 'rightness' and the other guy's 'wrongness'. What a silly thing it is to argue with God! I recall the day when I finally laid that 'folly' and 'false front' before him, only to find I didn't really like the 'real me'. Perhaps that is why I tried to cover the real me up with all that folly! It was even hard for me to believe God could love me as I was, but he never stopped showing me how much he loved the 'real me'.

Have you ever 'claimed' something that wasn't true, or wasn't yours to claim? To claim means that we assert or demand the recognition of something; maintain as fact and true; or to take as your own. This word comes from the root - to shout out. In other words, when we "claim" something, we are like men standing at the top of the city wall, or in the city square, crying out at the top of our lungs some "demand" that something be done, that an object is ours for the taking, or that we have accomplished some tremendous feat. As humans, we have a tendency to make some claims which are just plain not true. If this were not the case, would there be whole divisions of law to deal with "false claims"? In fact, there is even a False Claims Act as part of our governmental laws - passed in the days of Abraham Lincoln - standing to this day in order to deal with those who make false claims against the federal government system. It is "big bu

Can you say you exercise 'good sense' the majority of the time? I know I can have moments of nonsense in my life - those times when the decisions or actions just did not make total sense. In fact, they kind of bordered on the ridiculous on occasion! The majority of the time, I exercise good sense by listening to wise counsel, heeding scriptures warnings, and not doing whatever my conscience says I should not do. These three don't always keep me out of trouble, but they go a long, long way toward helping me avoid those 'nonsense activities' that would only bring more trouble into my life. Good sense brings blessing, but the road of the treacherous is long and rough. A clever person acquires knowledge and then acts on it; but a fool advertises his folly for all to see. (Proverbs 13:15-16) Think of a clever person as one who is quick in their intellect, mentally bright, and quite able to handle issues as they arise. If that isn't how you'd describe your

Just read a post from one of my friends about a couple who drove 1700 miles to pick up all the hand sanitizer available in every store he came across and now cannot sell it as he thought he could online! I am sorry, but I have to say that this idea of theirs was awfully stupid! I know they think people will become desperate and want this stuff, but honestly this is just one of the selfish and foolish things I have heard repeated lately with all this hype about Coronovirus. There have been lots of times when I hear people almost bragging about their escapades, but to brag about hoarding to deny others a chance to remain well hydrated, fed, or sanitized is just not something to brag about. Most of these 'hoarders' appear to have a sense of pride with acknowledging their folly! I am not one to "parade" my folly in public, but I went into a store for the first time in a long time and was amazed at how many people were acting like doomsday was coming. What warmed my heart

A fool engages in words that are both thoughtless (not a lot of thought taken before speaking them) and careless (headstrong and determined to make one's own point or get one's own way). Put them together and you have a recipe for many an unhappy relationship, family gathering, or workplace environment! The fool is often described as reckless, unthinking, indiscreet, lacking caution, etc. Not too flattering of a list of character traits, huh? The wise, on the other hand, are described as discreet, caring, respectful, concerned, etc. The difference isn't rocket science here - it is found in the ability to "govern" one's words. Fools have short fuses and explode all too quickly; the prudent quietly shrug off insults. Truthful witness by a good person clears the air, but liars lay down a smoke screen of deceit. Rash language cuts and maims, but there is healing in the words of the wise. (Proverbs 12:16-18) Ever know someone who has a "short fuse" - rea

There are times when I just don't want to listen. I am intent on something else, the plot thickens in a TV drama I am intent on watching, or I am just too tired to care. Listening is hard at times because life gets us involved in other things. Listening is really a two-way street. When we aren't listening, we are blocking one side of the street! We must have open ears to hear the message - but we must also ask clarifying questions so as to get the full meaning of what is being shared. That is how God intends for us to be with our spiritual "ears" - listening with the intention of getting the full meaning of what he is sharing. Simpletons only learn the hard way, but the wise learn by listening. (Proverbs 21:11) There is a clear difference between being a "simpleton" and being a wise learner. We rarely use the word "simpleton" anymore in our English language. In fact, I cannot remember hearing it used in very many situations in my entire lifetime.

Have you met anyone who is so bent on doing things their own way that no matter how much you attempt to advise them differently, they simply argue their point harder and harder, trying to convince you their way is right?  It usually doesn't go well for them because their "myopic" view of life is so limited they cannot see the collision course with disaster they are on.  The scripture is plain - fools don't want to learn from others.  I think one of the hardest things you can do is try to argue with someone "bent" toward foolish decisions.  They just don't want to consider other options - as though admitting their may be more sensible things to do or choices to make, they are admitting they don't know everything!  Shortsighted individuals don't know the big picture and they often refuse to see it.  It isn't that it doesn't exist, they just cannot get it into focus in their lives.  I am near-sighted.  I have the ability to see things near

A long time ago, I thought the only way to deal with foolish individuals was to talk them out of their foolishness.  Let me be the first to confess - the only thing this did was make a fool of me!  Why?  Fools cannot be talked out of their foolishness - they need an up-front and personal encounter with Jesus - not with my reasoning, rationalization, or even arguments which point out all the ways contrary to the ways they have chosen to act. This is why you won't find me debating with those who show up on my doorstep to "win me over" to their faith. I will simply state that I am a follower of Christ, very pleased with this deeply personal relationship I share with him, and have my hope of salvation pretty well "nailed down".  If this peaks their interest, I certainly will go on to share why it is I have this hope, but I don't spend hours debating with them why their "religion" is flawed.  I need to simply state the truth for the hope which I have w

Wisdom, common sense, and understanding all come from the Lord.  Somehow we have this wrong in our thoughts because we think it is all about how much or how quickly we can learn stuff.  We think if we "apply ourselves" to the books, we will learn the "stuff" we need to make it in this life.  Although I am huge proponent of continuing education (because I don't think we ever stop learning), I know there is much more to learning than just what we glean from the books.   A perfect example of this is all I have learned since I finished nursing school.  Yes, I spent a great deal of times in the books and there were some pretty intense study halls.  I even remember having to write up every disease process a patient had and plan their care.  But...the real learning took place once I was actually putting that stuff into practice.  When I heard the first extra little "swish" of the heartbeat, I discovered what a heart murmur sounded like.  When I smelt the fir

We all have moments when we just have to ask, "What were you thinking?"  The likely truth is that we WEREN'T thinking! The moment we crossed that invisible line from doing stuff the "wise" way into the place where we began to respond as either a foolish person or a simpleton, we just weren't thinking!  We might have been distracted, caught up in the frenzy of the moment, or even just too oblivious to have spent enough time in thought before we chose to act.  It happens to all of us.  We play the parts of the "fool" or the "simpleton" pretty well at times!  The moment we cross the invisible line, we know we are bound for disastrous consequences.  Consequences is just a big word for an end result we may not have wanted.  If we drive too recklessly, the consequences may actually be a fender bender and the car being tied up for a week or so while there are repairs to it.  The actions we engage in, regardless of how "purposeful" we

There are probably not too many of us who would admit to playing the part of "fool" once in a while.  In fact, we'd do our best to refute anyone who called us a fool, defending our honor to the end.  A fool is merely anyone who lacks judgment or good sense.  Now, if we were to be truthfully (yes, painfully honest) most of us could definitely cop to this plea!  We are not consistently wise in our judgment, nor do we always use good sense!  A fool in scripture is someone who does this habitually - but in everyday life, we all play the fool on occasion.  The issue with the fool - they just don't embrace wisdom, so they keep using "faulty" judgment over and over again.  I think there are probably areas in our lives where we do the same thing - try as we might, knowing what we know to be true, we ignore good judgment and just plunge headlong into whatever it is we are involved in.  In those moments, we are neither using our good sense (common sense), nor are we

A skeptic is anyone who maintains a doubting attitude, especially as it applies to truth.  The only reason we don't fully accept truth is because we have believed a lie.  Deceived people are often the most skeptical!  The skeptic treads on pretty thin ice because he claims their is no God - mostly because he cannot understand or comprehend God with his mind.  God is not comprehended in our mind anymore than he is apprehended with our mind.  It is our spirit which comprehends the Spirit of God.  For our spirit is the "communion" point for each of us to enter into deep, inter-dependent relationship with God.  If we depend on our minds, rational thought, or reasoning ability to get us to the point of trusting what God says is true and worth believing, we will fall very, very short of the depth of relationship God wants for us.  In fact, we may spend a little more time playing the part of the skeptic than we may want! The skeptic swore, “There is no God!    No God!—I c

In times gone by, men would gather at the gates of the city and engage in serious conversation.  It was a place of more than just meeting - it was a meeting of the minds.  Issues were settled there and wisdom was passed down.  The leaders of the city would often meet there to settle disputes, pass judgments on behalf of a wronged party, and just give insight into life decisions.  It was a place were "wisdom" was spoken and people left usually feeling pretty good about the things they had experienced.  At the gate of the city, a fool was not to be the one engaged in the conversations of giving advice or passing on a judgment for the wronged party.  Why?  They were clueless as the intent of the heart and this rendered them "useless" in making such decisions.  At the gate, they were to remain silent - for their "advice" would only muddle the matter.  In fact, they would often not even grasp the meaning of the conversations of the wise.  I wonder how much &qu

Advice - we all need it on occasion, give it on others.  Sometimes it is welcomed, at others it is resented and rejected.  Some advice comes with a little bit of opinion attached, while others is simply a statement of truth which is difficult to ignore.  By definition, advice is an opinion or recommendation offered as a guide for action or conduct.  Sometimes we see someone about to perform a particular action or exhibit conduct which will result in harm to them or another - our immediate response may be to offer some "advice" to not do it, right?  Have you ever noticed that we are quick to offer advice, but sometimes quite slow to take it?  It is much easier to offer an opinion than it it to accept the recommendations of one on the outside looking in! Don’t bother talking sense to fools;   they’ll only poke fun at your words. (Proverbs 23:9 MSG) Some of us will accept the words of advice we receive - mull them over in our brains a little - then figure out how to use

As hard as it is sometimes to just not respond to the fool with a glib, "What were you thinking?", it is necessary sometimes to set their understanding straight simply if we fail to, we allow for the fool to go on thinking their thinking was "spot on".  What happens when we don't respond to the foolishness of the fool is something akin to opening the floodgates.  We allow for a plethora of other stuff to continue on as though it did not matter.  The fool looks for validation - when he doesn't find resistance to his actions - he takes this as validation.  It is difficult to stop, take the effort and extreme amount of patience to speak with the fool, but sometimes it is the very best course of action to prevent a flood of ill-effects from his/her folly. Answer a fool in simple terms  so he doesn’t get a swelled head.  (Proverbs 26:5 MSG) Scripture is quite clear - we use simple terms to speak to the simpleton.  No fool is responsive to some lengthy th

We might call a person who really doesn't like to be around other people a recluse.  We might think of this person as living in a secluded area, or in a house with tall shrubs all around so as to keep people out and their "secret lives" secret.  In reality, anyone who lives "shut off" from the world is living a life of a recluse.  I am not much into quantum theory, although I have had the privilege of speaking with some amazingly intelligent men and women who do very well in this field.  I do appreciate some of the principles they teach, one of which is best stated by Erwin Schrodinger, an Austrian Physicist who studied in this field.  He said, "For a solitary animal, egoism is a virtue that tends to preserve and improve the species; in any kind of community it becomes a destructive vice."  Well said, Mr. Schrodinger!  As long as we live with ourselves and engage with no others throughout this lifetime, we might just find our egocentric lifestyle exac