The Plumbline

Riches won’t help on the day of judgment, but right living can save you from death. (Proverbs 11:4 NLT) It is so easy to get the wrong focus in life. We can spend more time worrying over money, making money, saving money, then miss the moments in life that actually matter the most. We neglect our quiet time with Jesus. We forego the liesurely lunch with a friend. We don't make the ballgames of our children. All the while, we are caught in this endless cycle of getting more, making more. The end of that cycle isn't good, though. We might have hefty bank account but our emotional and relational accounts are drained below zero! Jesus focused on others first - relationships mattered to him and they should matter to us. Riches aren't bad, though. I am not proposing we all live in poverty. We just need to keep our priorities straight. We need to focus on the things that really last - relationships. The first relationship that we need to focus on is the one we maintain with Jesus....

People who wink at wrong cause trouble,   but a bold reproof promotes peace. (Proverbs 10:10 NLT) It is impossible not to see 'wrong' around us today. It riddles the newscasts, fills our media feeds, and is probably evident right in your own neighborhood. The longer we live on this earth, the more we will have seen - all of it adding up to wrongs multiplied and troubles galore. Do we merely turn a blind eye to the evil we see around us - to the wrongs done to others? If we do, how will this world ever know the love or grace of Jesus? It takes the righteous to stand up to unrighteousness. It takes the people of God to drive back the forces of darkness that abound. What will we do if wrong comes our way? Won't we take up the fight because it affects us personally? Why should it be any different when we see wrong perpetrated against others? Shouldn't we be the instruments of change that this world desperately needs? Disapproval of wrong can come in many forms, but the grea...