In the parable of the wise man and the foolish man, Jesus illustrates the building of our lives with the building of houses. The wise builder represents those who hear and do God’s Word, and the foolish builder symbolizes those who hear but do not obey the Lord’s commands.
Matthew 7:24-27, “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.”
- Wisdom Is Not in the Structure Itself.
We can picture the wise man and the foolish man earnestly and skillfully building their houses. There are many people that live their lives very intentionally. They read books, go to self-help seminars, and even listen to lectures on how to build their lives. Using good materials, including hard work, diligent parenting, and good citizenry, they build fine houses. From the road, their houses have great curbside appeal; and perhaps the foolish man had the “nicest” house (life) in town. However, wisdom doesn’t lie in the material itself.
- Wisdom Is Only Proven in the Storm.
Since no one can see your foundation, no one will know what you have built your life upon until after the storm has blown through. Many great houses have washed away in the blowing storm. Oh how sad it is to see Christian testimonies collapse under the weight of a storm, but yet how joyful it is to see Christians standing firm through a storm! Remember, our faith will be tested in this world and judged in the next.
“He who provides for his life but takes no care for eternity is a wise man for a moment but a fool forever” – John Tillotson
- Wisdom Takes the Time to Dig Down.
Luke 6:47-49, “Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock:”
The foolish man built his house on the sifting sands of least resistance, but the wise man dug down to the rock. The fool says to himself, “I’m to busy to dig down like the wise man I have a life to build up.” He does not want to get bogged down with the commitment of faithful church attendance, soulwinning, and having a serious devotional life. It’s quicker just building up. Temporarily, his house may appear to be much better than the wise man’s. He may even seem smarter than the wise man, but his lack of digging will eventually be revealed. The wise man’s solid foundation didn’t happen by accident. It was intentional and also involved hard work. While the wise man was digging down, he had to watch the fool build up. On the outside, it appeared that the fool was getting so much more done, but the foundation (the inside) is what matters most.
I Corinthians 3:11-13, “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.”