The Plumbline

Living in accord with God's will is sometimes made all the harder when we are living in relationships with others on this earth, is it not? We find varying 'opinions' on how things should be done, who should do them, when they should be done. All the while, we say we live in unity, but deep down, are we in opposition to the will of God in our lives? It might be so if we find ourselves unwilling to align our actions with those God has asked of us or being unwilling to forgive someone who has offended us by some slight they have committed. God's plan is for us to align our actions and our relationships with him - not choosing to go our own way, following our own 'opinion' on matters. I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose. (I Corinthians 1:10) The Roman historian Sallust said, "Harm...

Harmony makes small things grow, lack of it makes great things decay. (Sallust) A bit in the mouth of a horse controls the whole horse. A small rudder on a huge ship in the hands of a skilled captain sets a course in the face of the strongest winds. A word out of your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish nearly anything—or destroy it! It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell. (James 3:3-6) Harmony is probably one of the most difficult things for humans to achieve. Why is that? It could just be this propensity we have to always seek our own 'best interest' in life, or our insane desire to always be out ahead of each other in one way or another. Harmony can be disturbed when competition becomes the focus. ...

How wonderful it is, how pleasant, when brothers live in harmony! (Psalm 133:1 TLB) What does harmony look like in your mind? In your heart? In your attitude? In your actions? Most would define harmony as the state of being united, without barriers or friction. In truth, harmony means much more - for it bespeaks a "congruity of parts" - where mind and heart are one; heart is reflected in one's attitude; and one's attitude directions all the actions that come forth so as to create a cohesiveness. Could it be possible to have harmony, but not to live in harmony? Yes, of course, for congruity of the parts doesn't always mean those parts will be all moving in the "right" direction! While most of us would want to think of harmony as a state of tranquility, we all know to get to that "state" requires some traveling over some pretty rough roads at times! Tranquility is not something that just happens by accident - it requires a Creator, a Sustain...