MOVING FORWARD - pastor mike landry

A carpenter cannot build a house without a plumb line. It’s not good enough to try to line things up by sight. The house will end up crooked. The same principle applies to our lives.

To live a life worth living and one that is constructive and beneficial to others requires a plumb line. Our personal perspectives and experiences are much too limited and finite. A life lived with no regrets must be built with plumb lines that guide us and give us true readings.

I was reminded of this by a recent conversation I had with a fellow passenger on a flight home the other day. The young man thought it was wrong for others to be critical about the lifestyle of others. He believed that people should be able to live anyway they want to live as long as it doesn’t directly hurt an innocent party.

The problem with this kind of thinking is that it ignores the truth about human nature and assumes that we are omniscient. Human nature will always minimize the pain of others to justify our own personal pleasures. We are so prone to distort and misrepresent truth and reality in order to justify our current lifestyles. It’s hard for most people to admit that they are born bent with a disposition toward self-centeredness and selfishness.

But the truth is true whether we believe it or not. And, if our lifestyle denies the truth, it does not change the truth.

Think about it this way. Suppose an experienced carpenter tries to eyeball the line necessary for a perpendicular wall and builds the wall based upon what looks right to him. Afterwards, a rookie carpenter or apprentice to the carpenter uses a plumb line on the wall and discovers that the sight line was slightly off and that the wall is now crooked. Can you imagine how absurd it would be for the experienced carpenter to try and justify his crooked line based upon his sight and experience? It’s not about how much experience he has…it’s about the truth.

It is so important that we measure our lives with God’s plumb line. We dare not trust our experiences and sightlines as being precise measurements of truth to build on. We are so prone to be slightly off center because we were not designed as human plumb lines. Over time, building a life slightly off center will result in disaster and a life full of regrets.

God’s Word is the plumb line. Don’t be surprised when you use God’s plumb line and it exposes your life as crooked and needing re-alignment. Also, don’t be surprised when you disagree with the findings of the plumb line on your life. Our desire for pleasure often blinds us to the truth.

So, what’s the take-away here? Trust God’s plumb line even when it doesn’t make sense or feel right. A plumb line is always straight and reliable…our perspective and experience is not. Invest time daily in the reading of and study of God’s Word. Ask yourself the hard question, “Does my life line up to the truth?” You won’t regret it…especially when you’re looking back at your life and asking the question, “Was it worth it?”