The Plumbline

I have moments in time when I just manage to say the right thing, in the right way, at the right time.  Notice - I said I have moments when I do this - nothing is less consistent in my life than the words I speak!  I don't think I am in this boat alone, though - I have some pretty good "rowing companions" alongside! The right words at the right time are often words of healing, or wisdom into a matter which has been difficult to figure out.  They are like the first drops of rain on a parched desert floor.  So how come we don't speak them more often?  I think it may have to do with our "consciousness" of what we actually say and how we say it.  Most of us speak, then hear what it was we said, and sometimes find ourselves mortified by what we just said!  If we could just get the pattern reversed so we hear our words before we speak them, we might just find our words are a little closer to what we really desired to say when we say it. The right word a...

As a kid, mom occasionally retrieved the bar of soap, directing us to stick out our tongues while she proceeded to wash our mouths out with it.  It was usually the result of some form of backtalk or just totally "naughty" words we were not supposed to be saying.  Lest you think it is time to call the authorities on my mom, let me assure you a little Ivory soap in the mouth doesn't kill the child!  I made it all these years and never suffered anything but a little bitter taste to remind me the words I choose to use actually do matter.  Definitely, without a doubt, curse words were forbidden.  We just didn't say them.  Yet there were other types of words just as damaging - like disrespectful words said in anger against an authority in our lives.  I daresay there are times when our words are less than desirable - kind of like greasy dishwater in the kitchen sink.  You could get by with them, but they don't leave you feeling very clean - they leave a...

Scripture has much to say about what is we say - our words matter more than we might just think.  The problem for so many of us is that we speak before we think!  Scripture points toward "helpful conversation", "careful words", and "truth talk".  Now, at first these three may not seem very significant, but when we put them all together, it could just impact how it is we speak to each other and what it is we put into words. The good acquire a taste for helpful conversation;   bullies push and shove their way through life.   Careful words make for a careful life;   careless talk may ruin everything.   A good person hates false talk;   a bad person wallows in gibberish.  (Proverbs 13:2-3, 5 MSG) Looking at this carefully, we see "who" this passage applies to: "the good", those who "live a careful life", and "a good person".  Most of us want to be counted among the "good" and the "careful", d...

How appreciative of the small things are we really?  Earlier this week I asked the question about looking a gift horse in the mouth.  I wonder just how many of us look at a simple crust of bread and think we got short-changed on the deal.  It isn't the crust of bread which determines the "value" of the meal, but the attitude in which the crust is received and partaken.  In fact, there are times I would prefer a crust taken in peace than the whole loaf when the rest of the loaf actually comes with strife, unrest, or unease!   A meal of bread and water in contented peace   is better than a banquet spiced with quarrels.  (Proverbs 17:1 MSG) The dry crust may not be a splendid as the gooey center of the loaf, but it has the potential of providing us everything we need with a whole lot less effort or cost!  I think there are times we yearn for more, but don't remember at what cost the "more" comes.  Nelson Mandela once said, "If you want to ma...

20  Don't bad-mouth your leaders, not even under your breath,     And don't abuse your betters, even in the privacy of your home.     Loose talk has a way of getting picked up and spread around.     Little birds drop the crumbs of your gossip far and wide. (Ecclesiastes 10:20 The Message) During World War II posters hung in theaters, grocers, and around town where everyone could see them, announcing the message that "Loose lips sink ships".  The idea was that you might never know who your true enemy is - even a slight "dropping" of a little information here or there could mean tragedy in the battle being fought.  The exact meaning was that "unguarded" talk could cost lives!   Mom taught me that "if you cannot say something good about someone, don't say anything at all."  Ummm...truth is, if I had heeded that message, I'd have said a WHOLE lot less in life!  The fact is, it is easy to get caug...

  15  Patient persistence pierces through indifference;    gentle speech breaks down rigid defenses. (Proverbs 25:15) Indifference is really a condition of the heart and mind in which a person has determined that they have little interest or concern.  Another term we use that is quite similar to indifference is the term "mediocrity".  There are some telltale signs that someone is pretty much indifferent, or that they have "settled" for a position of mediocrity in their lives.  An indifferent individual might look like this: - Apathetic to the needs of their life or those of another - Calm, cool indifference in the face of what would cause uneasiness or apprehension in others - A seeming absence of emotional connection with others or circumstances around them When you hear indifference described that way, you might think of an individual who struggles with frequent periods of depression, but they are not the only ones that experience this kind ...

13  Answering before listening    is both stupid and rude. (Proverbs 18:13) When I was in Bible College, one of the classes we took was designed to give us the skills to "listen" - really, seriously, listen.  I thought it was a long semester learning the skills of biblical counseling - beginning with the skills of listening and ending with the skills of listening.  What was that all about?  Well, it is really evident in our passage today - answering before listening is both stupid and rude.  People were going to want to confide in us, hard things would be shared, and answers would be sought - but...we needed to hear them out before offering the advice! In fact, a failure to listen long enough or allow the time to build the trust that would be required to really share the issues could result in a wrong perception of the issues and a faulty answer to the problem.  That would benefit no one.  The entire eighteenth chapter of Proverbs is ...

14  Well-spoken words bring satisfaction;    well-done work has its own reward.  (Proverbs 12:14) There is great frustration in communication that does not accomplish its purpose.  It is like talking to the air, receiving no acknowledgement of what is said, no indication that anyone listened at all.  Our writer reminds us that well-spoken words bring satisfaction - the words spoken in the right season, with the right intention, in the right spirit - these are the words that accomplish their purpose. Yet, there is not always a clear indication that these words, though spoken well, have accomplished anything - because the revelation of what has been accomplished in the speaking of those words may be delayed until a different season. I have been guilty of speaking all that I think - without thinking through all that I speak!  It is a tendency for us to do this in the heat of emotion - whenever we are carried away by the moment.  Sometimes, it...