Level or Straight?

(Proverbs 17:20 KJV) He that hath a froward heart findeth no good: and he that hath a perverse tongue falleth into mischief.

How can you tell if something is “froward” (crooked NASB) (6141)?  Sometimes it only takes a quick glance.  If you park your car and one wheel is on the curb, even the curb will notice.  But what about if one of the tires is just a little bit low?  Can you tell if your car is out of alignment just by looking at it?  It doesn’t take much to chew up your tires.

When you are hanging a picture on the wall, do you go for level or straight?  What is the difference?  Level is in relation to the gravity of the earth.  Straight is in relation to the walls and ceiling of the room.  If they are out of whack then the picture can look straight but be out of true.  In a picture that might be what you want but if you are putting in the stove top you will know if you are not straight and true.

So?  Too often we measure how we are doing based on the world around us.  If we live in crooked times, and we do live in crooked times, the standards of our surroundings are not to be trusted.  Only the eternal and unchanging will give you eternity.  You won’t find that in the daily newspaper