The Plumbline

Tainted wealth has no lasting value, but right living can save your life. (Proverbs 10:2) I found myself revisiting an old medical TV series over the past few days where more than one of the characters were quite entangled in 'making money', sometimes at the expense of others. As depicted by their characters, their absolute greed drove them to do things that were totally outside of the reason they ever got into their profession as doctors. They were so focused on fame and fortune; they lost sight of their calling. Wealth sometimes has a way of 'undoing' us - actually changing our focus from what we know to be 'true' and 'right' in our lives. Perhaps this is why God reminds us we cannot have our eyes on both wealth and God - the former one will eventually erode away at the relationship we have with him. Tainted wealth is that which is 'ill-gotten' - it might have started out quite innocently, but the more we pursued the wealth, the more it consume...

Many of us spend an inordinate amount of time planning, organizing, and generally creating a vision for our future without any evidence that implies we are guaranteed that future! It is human nature to count on the unseen, the unknown, to come to pass - for some, it is 'hope', but for others, they are counting on what will never come to pass because it was never intended for them. Those who hold out to win the lottery are playing against odds so great that their chances of ever winning are astronomical. Yet, they keep playing. Is that hope, or is that 'false hope'? If they are putting off the pursuit of goals because they would need that windfall fortune to do it, chances are they will never realize their goals! There is a place for hope, but hope must be founded in faith, rooted in a solid foundation, and reliant upon something (or someone) that can actually produce the outcome! Don't brashly announce what you're going to do tomorrow; you don't know the fir...