The Inspector Who Wouldn't Look Away

In 2018, a building inspector named Ron Gastaldo in Surfside, Florida, filed a report on the Champlain Towers South condominium. His plumb line, both literal and professional, revealed the truth: the concrete slab beneath the pool deck had major structural damage. Water had been seeping into the foundation for years, corroding the steel reinforcement from the inside out. The building was slowly failing.

The condo board read the report. They debated costs. They delayed repairs. Some residents who raised alarms were told they were being alarmist. The engineer was, in their eyes, an unwelcome voice delivering an unwelcome message — much like Amaziah telling Amos to take his prophecies somewhere else. Three years later, in the early hours of June 24, 2021, the building collapsed, killing ninety-eight people.

God told Amos, "I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel." A plumb line doesn't negotiate. It doesn't adjust itself to make a crooked wall feel better about its lean. It simply hangs straight and reveals what is true. The tragedy at Surfside reminds us that ignoring the measurement doesn't change the reality. The cracks were there whether anyone wanted to see them or not.

When the Almighty sends His plumb line into our lives, into our churches, into our communities, the most dangerous response is the one Amaziah chose: silence the messenger and pretend the wall still stands.