“Everyone’s building a house!” wrote Dillon Burroughs in one of his books about spiritual growth. “Each is trying to build a life based on something, anything.” Whether it is our jobs, relationships, family, money, possessions, hobbies, sports, entertainment, or something else, he continues, there will always be some foundation that we rely on and try to make a life-plan from. In Matthew 7:24–27 (English Standard Version), Jesus tells this story:
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” (Matthew 7:25–27)
This story concerns two men who are in similar circumstances—both are building houses near the sea. However, only one person is wise (based on his choice of location). The other is foolish; he has built his home in the wrong place and is not prepared for the storms that are sure to come. This passage (Matthew 7:24–27) is about the consequences of different choices; the story allows us to make comparisons and consider implications.
Jesus says that our lives are like buildings. Specifically, both the good and bad things we do in life are comparable to a foundation that either keeps us or leads us to ruin. This passage is about wise and foolish choices. Both of the men choose a home location. It is how they choose that location which is pivotal to this story. Jesus says that when the storms come, one choice will not fail us; the other will. Our lives are like buildings—we can choose a foundation that will keep us or one that will lead us to ruin.
As people who are followers of Jesus Christ, we need to choose carefully what our lives are built on. Our life choices are the result of decisions that we make. Every decision in life has implications. Paul writes, “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 13:14a), and this entails making choices and deciding how to live as a Christian.
Every life has a pattern. There are decisions to make; every decision has an impact. Therefore, as Christians, we have to consider what we are basing our lives on. We might not think that is a particularly important or relevant question. But Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” (Matthew 6:24). Money or possessions, or any other thing can become an idol for us. The danger of idolatry is something that we should be conscious of every day, even if we think we have it figured out.
Therefore, in the parable about the two men and their foundations, Jesus asked: “What kind of person are you?” (Matthew 7:24). There are two kinds of people in the world. One person is wise; the other is foolish. Which one do you want to be?
In the rest of this essay, I will unpack three evaluations about the way we evaluate life and the parable of the wise and foolish builder.