The Plumbline

There is much to be said about the leadership of a nation. It can lead us in one of two directions - toward God or further away from God. It can follow an agenda that brings further compromise into a nation, or bring that nation to a place of insight, wise choices, and true freedom. When the king of Nineveh heard about this, he left his throne, removed his robe, put on special clothes to show that he was sorry, and sat in ashes. The king wrote a special message and sent it throughout the city: A command from the king and his great rulers: For a short time no person or animal should eat anything. No herd or flock will be allowed in the fields. Nothing living in Nineveh will eat or drink water. But every person and every animal must be covered with a special cloth to show they are sad. People must cry loudly to God. Everyone must change their life and stop doing bad things. Who knows? Maybe God will stop being angry and change his mind, and we will not be punished. God saw what the peopl

Is it possible to disagree on things and still be at peace with each other? If we are serving Christ, I believe it is possible, but unfortunately the majority of the world doesn't serve Christ! Therefore, there are all manner of disagreements, arguments, hostility, and even wars. If we want peace, we need the God of all Peace to invade our lives once and for all, changing hearts and minds to see there is much more to be 'gained' in giving one's life to Christ than there is in all this endless striving and strife we pursue. God says, “Stop fighting and know that I am God! I am the one who defeats the nations; I am the one who controls the world.” (Psalm 46:10) He is indeed the one who controls the world, right down to the day-to-day operations of hundreds of 'heads of state', 'supreme commanders', 'world leaders', and 'elected officials'. Do they all serve God? Absolutely not, but "To the Lord, a king’s mind is like a ditch used t

"A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way." (John C. Maxwell) Can unjust leaders claim that God is on their side—leaders whose decrees permit injustice? (Psalm 94:20) The more we attempt to justify 'bad leadership' in any form, the more we will slip into all manner of injustice, impurity, and unwholesomeness. How is it possible for a leader to create such a mess in the lives of so many? Easy - people get behind the leader because of charisma or popularity, without even looking deeper into the integrity of the leader's heart. Unjust leaders might declare that God is on their side, but when the heart of a man has never really submitted to the authority and leadership of the Lord Jesus Christ, he is charismatic at best. As Maxwell points out, a leader with integrity will not only know the way to walk, but he will also consistently go that way, and is able to show others how to find that way themselves.  To know, one must be exposed to truth.

And all of you, dress yourselves in humility as you relate to one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. (I Peter 5:5-6) Elder or younger - all relate to one another in humility - this is God's plan. Pride gets the dander up quicker than anything else and it disrupts any movement toward unity or peace faster than a speeding train. Elder isn't to "lord it over", nor is younger to challenge the authority set over them. If we'd just get this right, maybe we'd stand half a chance at changing the course of this world! When our 'loyalty' is divided between God and this world, chaos is sure to ensue. Look at what James tells us, "Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided betw

The Lord gave us each a mind, and nothing we do can be hidden from him. (Psalm 33:15) I've been both a follower and a leader. Everything I did as a follower was based on some insecurity I had formed that almost demanded I do things to please others. In order to "feel" accepted, I did what others asked - even when what they asked would be contrary to what common sense, learned values, and/or sound advice would have warned against. My wrong choices have landed me (on more than one occasion) in many a predicament which required either my attempts at covering it up (when what I did was clearly wrong and would land me in trouble) or in me being "accepted" but all for the wrong reasons entirely. Being a follower is not always the best thing - unless the one you are following is Christ! Even as we follow Christ, he doesn't want us to do so blindly or without purposeful intention. To this end, he gives each of us a mind and expects we will use it! What we beli

Who in your community is understanding and wise? Let his example, which is marked by wisdom and gentleness, blaze a trail for others.  ( James 3:13   VOICE ) Gentleness is often an overlooked character trait in today's leaders. We expect wisdom - otherwise they probably couldn't do the job. Wisdom is the ability to apply the knowledge we have gained - making in practical to us. A good leader will be able to take what he or she knows in their mind and hearts and apply it to the situation at hand. Some leaders just apply what they know in their minds and forget about the heart.  A good leader considers both! Wisdom and understanding - knowing in the mind, listening to the heart, and then applying what you know is right, sound, and of good value in the situation. We might think one thing, but when we consider it with our heart, we sometimes find ourselves holding back or just not going down that path all together. Why? Wisdom demands balance between the cold, hard facts and

There are simply times when I shake my head at the opposition I see to so many of the rulers we have in place around our nation.  People gather on the squares outside legislative halls to protest the rules made, the positions of these rulers on matters they are asked to pass legislation on, and to just plain express their opposition to the rules in general.  It is kind of like a "sport" to them - some being at every protest they can possibly attend - even if it means missing work or leaving some other commitment undone.  I don't even know if they fully understand the "reason" behind their protest as much as they enjoy the "sport" of the protest.  The truth is pretty evident - we will not always share the same opinions as others - especially those in political positions of power and decision making.  To ridicule them or point fingers at them in protest is not an effective means of helping them do their job, though.  In fact, scripture points to quite a

The words we use in a relationship can build up or tear down the relationship, for words affect people much more than what we might originally imagine. Scripture reminds us, " The loose tongue of the godless spreads destruction;   the common sense of the godly preserves them ." (Proverbs 11:9 MSG)  A "loose tongue" is like a loaded canon - it fires loudly, aims blindly, and leaves a gaping hole when it lands.  There are a lot of ways to classify the words we speak, but none does more damage than those which arise out of either bad character or bad conduct.  These words tend to lean toward the side of being a little less than refreshing and restoring.  Just like the canon ball, they cause a lot of discomfort and leave an offensive "after-taste".  If you have ever smelled spent gunpowder, you know the offensive "after-taste" I am referring to.  It kind of stings your nose and sours your taste.  A loose tongue has a pretty similar action in the live

It is almost election time in the United States.  The next President will be selected in just a matter of a few days.  The course of the next four years is held in the hands of those who will make their ways to the polling places, casting their ballot for their "favorite" candidate.  Note, I did not say the "best" candidate, but their "favorite" candidate.  After all, isn't this what the debates, campaign speeches, and advertisements have been devised to produce?  They were all put together in such a way so as to "sway" the voters to choose either one or the other - plain and simple.  I have heard many say, "Well, I guess we will just choose the lesser of two evils."  Nothing is sadder than having to choose a candidate who comes "close" to your beliefs, sort of close to the way you'd vote on issues, and marginally "inside" the values you adhere to as your own.  Yet, in many cases, we don't get the choice

2  When good people run things, everyone is glad,    but when the ruler is bad, everyone groans.  (Proverbs 29:2) Much can be said about "good leaders", but the most frequent thing you will heard mentioned about "solid" leadership is the fact that people have no problem "getting behind them" in loyal support.  Good leadership does not mean that everyone agrees with every decision that is made, but that they can apply themselves to the vision of that leader and move forward in faith that the plans will accomplish the end result.  We find leaders in every area of our lives - at work, in our homes, in the community in which we reside, and over countries.  In fact, we often fill the role of leaders in some arena of our lives.  Leaders play an integral part in "directing" our future. Therefore, the leader must lead with integrity, passion and purpose - but the leader must also lead with interest in others, compassion, and openness of heart/mind. I