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“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” (Matt 7:24 NIV84) [see these verses in their context below]
Do you think life is unfair?
The exclamation, “it’s not fair!” is repeated by countless children when denied what they want. But this sentiment about unfairness in life doesn’t stop at childhood. It’s a common sentiment to all people.
Here are a few quotes that show this—
Life is unfair. And it’s not fair that life is unfair. (Edward Abbey)
It is the fairness of life that makes it seem unfair. (Gugu Mona)
Baseball is a lot like life. The line drives are caught; the squibbles go for base hits. It’s an unfair game. (Rod Kanehl)
Life is unfair but remember sometimes it is unfair in your favor. (Peter Ustinov)
If life is unfair with everyone, doesn’t that make life fair? (Thabang Gideon Magaola)
We all experience some sense of unfairness during the course of life. We plan to spend the day at the beach or hiking with the family, and it rains most of the day. We save money towards opening a business or a plan to retire, and the economy crashes. Or, we plan a fun vacation and a pandemic breaks out!
The truth of the matter is this, not everything in life goes our way or makes sense. The wise King Solomon, the author of many wise proverbs, lamented the apparent unfairness of life in Ecclesiastes (Eccl 1:12-14).
But is life really unfair? Terrible injustices do take place every day throughout the world. And yet, some people who seem to have an easy life with plenty of wealth and resources are never content. Others endure great hardships and tragedies yet learn to be content in life.
We don’t all react the same to what seems to be unfairness in life. On one hand, some people have what appears to be a positive outlook on life and make the best of whatever comes their way. But of course, not everyone is that way.
Here’s what Jesus told us about all of this in a general sense…
In this way you show that you are children of your Father in heaven. He makes his sun rise on people whether they are good or evil. He lets rain fall on them whether they are just or unjust. (Matt 5:45 GW)
Since the sun rises on the evil and good, and rain falls on the just and unjust, we have a choice as to how we respond to all that takes place in life. But there’s a more important concern and a way to be prepared for whatever life seems to throw at us.
Insights to consider
This parabolic illustration of the two house builders sums up the teaching on true wisdom. This is the fourth and final warning given by Jesus at the end of His Sermon on the Mount. It’s also found in the Gospel of Luke (Luke 6:46-49).
The primary truth is the same but it’s expressed in different wording in the two gospels. Matthew wrote his gospel account for the Jewish mindset but Luke wrote his account with the Greek or gentile reader in mind.
The third warning of Jesus (Matt 7:21-23) that precedes this story of the wise and foolish builders is summarized in one verse in Luke and leads directly to this parable—
“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. (Luke 6:46-47 NIV 84)
Why are these two warnings linked together so closely?
We’ll look at that later but let’s go back to the story itself for now.
There are two builders—one considered wise and the other foolish. What separates them is how they built their houses.
The wise man built his house on a rock, or as told in Luke, “…dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock.” In today’s modern construction a rock foundation is manufactured with concrete footings. If the building site is not on stable ground, the builder needs to dig deeper to find the firmer ground and use deeper and greater footings for the house to rest on.
The foolish man built his house on sand or on top of the ground. In areas where people are poor, often building on land they don’t own, they have no solid foundation because concrete is expensive or the landowner won’t allow them to build a permanent structure.
The weather conditions are the same with a storm bringing rain and wind and flooding. But the outcomes are very different.
It’s easy to see this story as an illustration of two different people facing the storms life brings upon all of us.
True Wisdom
All three of the warnings in the second half of Matthew 7 lead and build up to this final and fourth warning. Why? It’s an indictment of the Pharisees and other Jewish leaders for their empty religious practice.
This is made most clear in Luke’s account—
“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? (Luke 6:46 NIV)
Jesus says it’s not enough to hear and know the truth. A true believer needs to put the truth into practice in their daily life. Jesus emphasized this after He washed the disciple’s feet and exhorted them to do the same.
Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example….
Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. (John 13:14-15, 17)
This same exhortation is echoed later by two apostles, James and John. We are not to just hear and speak the truth, we need to become doers of the truth (James 1:22-25; 1 John 3:18).
This is the more difficult part of the Christian faith—to practice what we preach. Or, to paraphrase a popular saying, “you need to walk the walk, not just talk the talk.”
Before His arrest and crucifixion, Jesus gave a stinging rebuke to the Pharisees and teachers of the Law. In Matthew 23, Jesus pronounces seven woes against their self-righteous example—do as we say, not as we do (Matt 23:13-32).
But how do we put the truth into practice and “walk the walk”?
I see two ways for us to become like the wise builder.
First, we need to have a firm foundation for our life. We need to build our life upon Him who is the Word of God (John 1:1, 14, 18; 14:6). As King David declared—
The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. (Psalm 18:2)
This is what the apostle Paul exhorted the Corinthian believers about—
For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. (1 Cor 3:11)
As Jesus told His disciples on the night He was betrayed, we are to abide in Him and His words are to abide in us so we can bear much fruit for Him (John 15:3-5).
This is the underlying theme of the Sermon on the Mount—the citizens of the Kingdom of God are to reflect the nature of God. This requires us to build on the firm foundation of Jesus as our Lord.
The second thing we need to do as wise builders is to put the truth of God into practice. But how do we do this? There’s no magic formula nor “10 steps” to follow. It is a daily commitment and a lifelong process.
Developing spiritual healthiness is similar to how we would develop and maintain physical health. It’s based on proper nutrition—God’s Word, and regular exercise—putting the truth into practice.
There’s an admonition in the book of Hebrews that may give further insight into how to put the truth into practice—
All those who live on milk lack the experience to talk about what is right. They are still babies. However, solid food is for mature people, whose minds are trained by practice to know the difference between good and evil. (Heb 5:13-14 GW)
Until we are free from these physical bodies on this physical earth and see Jesus face to face, we will face a continual onslaught of worldliness designed to undermine our faith in Jesus.
We need to be firmly grounded in our relationship with Jesus, to put the truth into practice on a daily basis, and live each day as a citizen of God’s Kingdom.
Does your life have a firm foundation in the Lord?
Does your daily life reflect the nature of Jesus as a citizen of His kingdom?
Reflection—
We all experience some sense of unfairness during the course of life. So, we need to be firmly grounded in our relationship with Jesus, to put the truth into practice on a daily basis, and live each day as a citizen of God’s Kingdom to withstand the uncertainty of storms in this life.
Prayer Focus—
When you find yourself overwhelmed by various storms in your life and feel as if you’ll be swept away by them, turn to Jesus in prayer. Call out to Him by faith to help you stand firm upon Him as your Lord, and ask Him for insight and wisdom to live out the truth in a daily way.
Devo Scripture Text
“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.“
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”
“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. And 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. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.
(Matthew 7:13-29 NIV84)
