Issue 775 – Right Plumbing – June 14, 2022
We are in the process of changing our home insurance as we felt the renewal pricing from our existing carrier was too high. We met with a broker to discuss the situation.
As was expected, the broker had some questions. There were the usual about how long we had been insured (40+years), claims history (none) etc. Then he asked about the type of pipe used in the home.
Most insurers here will not cover water damage in homes with polybutylene plumbing. Polybutylene
is a gray plastic pipe used in residential construction from 1978 through 1995. The manufacturing stopped because of leakage issues and ongoing lawsuits.
I had no idea what type of pipe had been used in this home, so we investigated. Was it copper, polybutylene, or PEX (a flexible plastic made of cross-linked polyethylene)? We researched and found we had PEX, so we are good to go.
A simple enough transaction, but it got me thinking. Most of us only care that the plumbing inside our walls works and don’t ever stop to think about what it is made from. We don’t know what is behind the walls and don’t care.
That thought, in turn, made me think about people. We only see what is on the outside; we don’t get to see their hearts and minds. Fortunately, God sees past the superficial.
Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart. Proverbs 21:2
All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirit. Proverbs 16:2
And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. Hebrews 4:13
But just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts. 1 Thessalonians 2:4
We can fool others. We can, and often do, deceive ourselves. Many have made a profession of faith in a moment of emotional turmoil without truly believing and may be lost. Others may seem hardened, but they truly know the Lord in their heart.
We need to be very cautious about making the call about who is and who isn’t a believer. That isn’t for us to know.
We can make inferences and often be strongly convicted by the fruit or lack thereof in someone’s life, but only God truly knows.
God alone knows who He has chosen, and He alone knows the moment they will open their hearts. For some, it is early in life. For others, it is on their deathbed.
Some may come to church regularly and not know Jesus. I know one lovely lady who attended church faithfully for nearly 40 years before she came to know Christ. She served in many capacities in her church, including filling the pulpit without knowing Him.
I know a pastor who served the Lord faithfully for years, and it wasn’t until he was devastated by a stroke that he realized he depended on his works to save him.
Others may seldom see the inside of a church but be in glory when we get there. Their faith walk will have been stunted by not attending, but their faith proved.
God knows His own. That is good news when we stumble and fall. The righteousness of Christ has been imputed to us, so we are forgiven. We might question our salvation, or others might look at us and doubt. God knows the truth, and once we are His, we are safe.
That doesn’t mean we can pass on self-examination. Even the hearts of believers can have dark corners. We must be vigilant about looking inward and allowing God to shine His light in those dusty, spider-webbed corners.
That inward look should convict us and push us to the throne of grace in humble repentance. The lights in our dark corners are to make us towards holiness, to conform us into the image of Christ.
Let us pray for God to open the eyes of our hearts so that we might be more like Him. May the recognition of our faults cause us to offer grace and forgiveness to others as we would want it extended to us.
Hallelu Yah (Praise God)
Be blessed.
Kevin.
Gleanings From The Word.
Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life.
Soli Deo Gloria (for the glory of God alone.)
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