The Plumbline

Dear friend, do what I tell you; treasure my careful instructions. Do what I say and you'll live well. My teaching is as precious as your eyesight—guard it! Write it out on the back of your hands; etch it on the chambers of your heart. Talk to Wisdom as to a sister. Treat Insight as your companion. They'll be with you to fend off the Temptress—that smooth-talking, honey-tongued Seductress. (Proverbs 7:1-5 MSG) Scripture speaks of Wisdom and Insight as a person - the person of Jesus Christ. God's primary purpose in telling us of the 'person' of Wisdom and Insight is for us to get to know Jesus' character a little better. The character of a person is what we sometimes call the 'real person'. A person's character is more than their personality - it is made up of their code of moral conduct and even their consistency in being honest or true in their actions. Keeping the commandments of God has great reward - a reward of developing the character tra...

Good friend, follow your father's good advice; don't wander off from your mother's teachings. Wrap yourself in them from head to foot; wear them like a scarf around your neck. Wherever you walk, they'll guide you; whenever you rest, they'll guard you; when you wake up, they'll tell you what's next. For sound advice is a beacon, good teaching is a light, moral discipline is a life path. (Proverbs 6:20-23 MSG) There are certainly those in society today that lack the good advice of a father (or a father who actually listens to any good advice) and the wise teachings of a mother (or a mother too caught up in herself to actually listen to others). Perhaps father or mother is actually absent from the scene - or simply totally not involved in the life of their children. Worse yet is that the parent was present to teach, but what was taught was continual abuse, absolute neglect, or total mistrust. Society today has not done a good job of representing the ro...