The Plumbline

Our bodies are made up of many parts. None of these parts have the same use. There are many people who belong to Christ. And yet, we are one body which is Christ’s. We are all different but we depend on each other. (Romans 12:4-5) I know a great many folks like to declare they are 'independent thinkers' and like to tout how they are 'accountable' to no one except themselves. I'd like to challenge that one a bit today because if we are to believe scripture (and I guess you might know by now that I do 100%), none of us lives unto themselves. We are all created to live in community with each other, therefore no man is really and 'independent' person. We have what each other needs - whether we'd like to think so or not.  As a nurse, I understand many of the 'inter-dependent' parts of our human body. One of these parts stops working as it should and the rest are subject to poor outcomes as a result. Some may think that skin isn't all that importan...

Have you ever 'claimed' something that wasn't true, or wasn't yours to claim? To claim means that we assert or demand the recognition of something; maintain as fact and true; or to take as your own. This word comes from the root - to shout out. In other words, when we "claim" something, we are like men standing at the top of the city wall, or in the city square, crying out at the top of our lungs some "demand" that something be done, that an object is ours for the taking, or that we have accomplished some tremendous feat. As humans, we have a tendency to make some claims which are just plain not true. If this were not the case, would there be whole divisions of law to deal with "false claims"? In fact, there is even a False Claims Act as part of our governmental laws - passed in the days of Abraham Lincoln - standing to this day in order to deal with those who make false claims against the federal government system. It is "big bu...