The Plumbline

My son, pay attention to what I say. Listen closely to my words. Don’t let them out of your sight. Never stop thinking about them. These words are the secret of life and health to all who discover them. Above all, be careful what you think because your thoughts control your life. (Proverbs 4:20-23) When God asks us to pay attention it is just that he knows how easily we become distracted by other things or people. The 'loudest voice' or the 'shiniest image' gets our attention and before we know it, we are following the crowd and not him. I recently attended a large gathering and at the end of the event, huge crowds all marched out in no particular order, but with intent. I took particular notice of those who were trying to 'swim upstream', pushing past those who were intent on going one direction when they were committed to going the other. Sometimes our Christian walk can seem a bit like we are 'swimming upstream' while the crowds are swimming smoothly ...

Have you ever been guilty of just talking on and on, really not cognizant of all you are saying? Believe it or not, we might do this pretty frequently in our quiet times of prayer. We are supposed to be quiet for a while, but we find ourselves just rambling. I wonder just how many times we rant on and on to God about something, all the while ignoring his desire to get a word in edge-wise? It amazes me how much "talking" I do in prayer time and just how little "listening" I allow! I think we might be quick to spill our guts out before God, but I really wonder just how quick (and possibly willing) we are to listen to his instruction! "I'm speechless, in awe—words fail me. I should never have opened my mouth! I've talked too much, way too much. I'm ready to shut up and listen." (Job 40:3-5) I am ready to shut up and listen....pretty poignant words, huh? Two conditions are laid out - we have to "shut up" and we have to "list...