The Plumb Line, Not The Pendulum

Live according to the plumb line, not the pendulum.

There is much truth embedded in that sentence.

For those unfamiliar, a plumb line in a toolbelt is a weight suspended from a string, used to ensure a structure is centered. The plumb line keeps the work straight and, since the weight is non-magnetic, is unaffected by any other force but gravity. Some structures may look straight according to the eye, but a good builder will employ a tool like a plumb line so that there exists an objective measure.

A pendulum, on the other hand, is by definition always changing. When in use, the pendulum can only swing back and forth. I think of “The Pit and the Pendulum,” a story by Edgar Allan Poe, in which the protagonist, strapped to a wooden table, has to free himself before a blade at the end of a pendulum slices through him. The blade whooshes back and forth, oscillating in the dark as it lowers toward the victim.

That picture of the pendulum, swinging back and forth, seems to describe many today. Like a captain at sea finding the direction of the wind, then sailing wherever the wind takes them, so many today try to see which way society is blowing, then catch the wind and follow suit, adjusting their standards accordingly. Their outlook on life, based on the shifting mores of society, is like a pendulum, swinging back and forth by constantly changing definitions and assumptions.

The one who lives according to the plumb line, however, looks to an outside, objective measure as his source. One guided by a plumb line constantly looks to that standard, knowing his work would be in vain without that objective measurement. No one would step into a building if they knew the structure was not built according to high standards.

If I base my worldview measurements on political parties, talking heads, pop culture, or some other fleeting standard, then I can run the risk of living life by the pendulum, especially in this era of reactionism. But “the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God” (James 1:20).

When something of moral significance arises, one may easily look to the culture and follow suit. All one has to do is hitch their standards to someone they like and believe whatever they say. They may instead look to those they do not like and automatically believe the opposite. All of that is easy. None of that requires much thought, only loyalty to a person, party, or brand.

This is an easy way to live, but also a dangerous way to live. God has given us both hearts and minds to make intricate moral decisions on matters of great importance. Wise as serpents, innocent as doves, we are to live in such a way that, even when the world maligns us for following the plumb line of the Scriptures, calling us backward for the way we live, work, and worship, they will one day be put to shame and we will be rewarded in Heaven (1 Pet. 3:16; Matt. 5:11).

Sometimes living by the plumb line of the Scriptures means being on opposite sides of issues with close friends and dear family. Such a life requires humility to submit to the Scriptures once some deviation in course is realized.

The plumb line, the Word of God, cuts through everything, measuring life by the truth, not by eloquent words or forceful rhetoric. The Pharisees attempted to flatter Christ by prefacing one of their questions by stating that they knew He was true because He was not swayed by the faces of men but taught the Word of God in truth (Mark 12:14). Though they meant this assertion as mere flattery, they spoke a deep truth: Christ was not concerned with the opinions of men. He came to seek and save the lost. He came to preach that truth, no matter how popular or unpopular that truth was. But He did everything in grace and truth.

The same should be said about His followers. We must not be concerned with the popular ideas of the day concerning morality. We must be concerned with the truth and live by that standard alone.

That was the point of classical philosophy as found in Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle: find the objective truth of the cosmos and live accordingly. That is why early Christians called themselves followers of “The Way” (Acts 9:1-2; see also the early church document The Didache). They were followers of the truth and lived by that plumb line found in the Gospel of Christ. Jesus was not only their Savior: He was their great Philosopher. He not only taught the way, the truth, and the life, but was also Himself the way, the truth, and the life.

That is why this subject has been on my mind much of late. Have we created a Christian subculture where we look to Jesus as our Savior, but do not look to Him as our Lord, whose ways and words guide the entirety of our lives on earth, and not only as a way to enter into Heaven? Having accepted Christ as our Savior, do we then look to the world for how we are to lead our lives here below?

Amid the controversies of our day, and with the ever-widening divides surrounding even the smallest topics, we must take time to stop and consider if we are living more by the swinging pendulum of the world than by the steadfast plumb line of the Scriptures, giving thanks to the Lord for providing us with His Word.

JOSEPH L. HAMRICK III
1689 Federalism | Amillennialism
Joseph L. Hamrick III is a Reformed Baptist Christian who serves as a deacon at Commerce Community Church (C3) in Commerce, TX, where he and his wife, Jesse, live. Joseph holds a BA in Liberal Studies from the Texas A&M University-Commerce and writes a weekly column via Substack where he writes about the Christian life. When he is not at work, he can usually be found with a Bible, a work of Dostoevsky, or some other book in his hands.