Plumb Lines

In a recent house cleaning, furniture moving frenzy my husband and I switched our offices. Several years ago he had turned his woodworking shop into a She Shed for all of my crafts and hobbies. My philosophy is that whoever dies with the most yarn wins, and I am way ahead. When he upgraded the shop, he included central air and heat, and all of the amenities one could ask for. 

The shop served me well as a retreat, refuge, crafting area, and play room for the grandkids when they were younger. But more recently, it had become a catchall for anything we did not want in the house. We decided that we could move Jerry’s office from a spare bedroom in the house to the shop and move some of my craft and writing equipment into the spare bedroom. 

In the midst of the moving, there is always the discovery of things you forgot you had. Or, at least you forgot where they were. One of my surprises was the plumb line I use for teaching young people about public policy. The object of my affection was hanging on the doorframe of my office in the shop, and I had forgotten it was there. Anybody else out there who keeps a plumb line hanging in your office?

Most young people do not have any idea what a plumb line is. It is a cord with a weight on one end that is used to make a straight vertical line. It can be used in construction to determine whether a project is “plumb” – perfectly vertical.  It is unwaveringly accurate. A building that does not have the foundational elements aligned will only become more unstable as the project proceeds. 

My message to young people is to know the underlying principles of good government and then to use a plumb line of judgement on each and every policy decision they recommend. For our purposes, we use what we call the LIFT principles. That is, limited government, individual liberties, free enterprise, and traditional values. 

The verse in Amos is a reminder that the Lord established the requirements for the Israelites to be blessed. Had they met the requirements, the plumb line would show a correct alignment. But alas, they did not met the requirements and eventually they got so far out of alignment the situation called for divine judgment. 

It takes nothing more than listening to the news or reading current events to know that as a nation we are no longer aligned with the principles of our founding fathers. Like an old building, that over times begins to decay and lean, our nation is in trouble. Our nations’s problems are not political. They are people problems. 

It is time to pull out our plumb lines to measure our own alignment with the word of God to see what we need to repair in order to get our lives back in plumb with God’s principles. Only when the people are loving, serving, and obeying God will he be able to bless our nation. 

Lord, search our hearts and reveal to us the things we need to work on in our own lives in order to come into line with your word and your will. Amen