The Plumbline

I decided there is nothing better than to enjoy food and drink and to find satisfaction in work. Then I realized that these pleasures are from the hand of God. For who can eat or enjoy anything apart from him? God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy to those who please him. (Ecclesiastes 2:24-26) Solomon was known to be one of the wisest men alive, yet he made decision after decision to follow every whim and fancy of his heart, all in the name of looking for 'meaning' in life. Many times, we go through life looking for 'meaning', but it is in the pursuit of wealth, fame, amassed things, relationships, and even our careers. After a while, pursuit after pursuit, all seem meaningless. What gives meaning to life? Could it be that this ONE relationship we have with Christ gives the most 'meaning' to our lives - making every pursuit we undertake 'meaningful' because he has orchestrated it? Even the pleasures of working hard at what you enjoy the most is somethin...

Did you ever stop to consider why the God of the Universe, the one who made all things and knows all things, requires us to ask for whatever it is we need or want?  It seems contradictory to who he is, doesn't it?  To have to ask when he knows already seems kind of foolish on the surface, but if you stop to consider what "asking" entails, you may come to a revelation of the true purpose of asking.  You see, asking requires us to humble ourselves, not to mention allow for a clarification of our wants and needs.  Have you ever sought one thing, only to find when you received it the "thing" did not do for you whatever you hoped it would?  I have and it was then that I realized just how much I didn't really need what I asked for - it was just something to "fill space" in my life, but that "space" really should have been occupied by something else (or someone else). This is God’s Message, the God who made earth, made it livable and lastin...

Having raised two children and seeing the grandchildren moving up the grades in school, I am well familiar with the tendency to heart those words "I want" more than I care to have heard them.  Most parents deal with this "I want" phase of childhood by trying to sculpt their children's desires into realistic and meaningful ones rather than indulging each and every "I want" as though it was an immediate need which required being met.  If we did meet every one of their "I want" demands, we probably raised pretty spoiled children!  More importantly, we never helped them realize the world isn't all about them! There are times when our "wants" are really demands and they are all based in this belief of us being the most important one in the picture at the moment.  There are probably very few of our "wants" which actually equate to "needs" in our life - but isn't it amazing how loudly our "wants" proc...

There are very few things in this life we can actually be sure of - most of which are totally out of our control as Benjamin Franklin once said in the old adage:  "Nothing is certain but death and taxes."  If we were to be totally honest, I think we might just be able to add a third one to this list:  Mistakes. It is totally human to make mistakes, so it stands to reason we can count on it as a "given" in life - something we can count on happening.  If there are things we can know for sure will happen, we have a different mental focus about them, don't we?  For example, I don't even think about the taxes coming out of my paycheck until someone asks me about them, or I go to prepare my income tax statement every year.  Why?  They are a "constant" I can count on, so no amount of worry will ever change the fact they are coming out of my paycheck.  It is as though they just "happen" - they are out of my control.  I can try to manage them by ...