The Foolish Man- Matthew 7:26-27

Last week, I announced that we would be looking at verses from the sermon on the mount for the VOW in 2013. The verse we looked at last week was the beginning of Jesus' summary of the sermon. The person who hears the words of Jesus and puts them into practice is like a wise man.... But we know from the VBS song, that there is a second part to the sermon- the part about the foolish man.

Many people point out that both the wise man and the foolish man will experience storms. In fact, it is likely that they will experience similar storms throughout their lives. They will both experience the death of a loved one. They will both experience heartbreak. They will both experience betrayal.  There is even a chance that they will both experience something like a divorce or the rebellion of a child. Why? Because when sin entered the world, devastating pain, death, and a host of other things came with it...including more sin and temptation to sin. Paul says in Romans 8 that the creation itself was subjected to slavery to corruption because of man's choice to sin. Where there is sin, there is death. Where there is death, there is suffering.

Until the creation is once again set free from corruption at the coming of Jesus, there will always be storms...some caused by nature and others caused by people.

The only difference between the experiences of the wise and the foolish, is the condition of the house after the storm.

It's interesting to me that Jesus adds the detail that when the house fell, "it fell with a great crash." We could have gotten the same basic point- that obedience leads to a solid foundation and security while disobedience leads to insecurity and the future destruction and fall of a house- without His adding this detail of how great the crash is.

Why does He add this detail?

Maybe it is because those of us who have heard and listened to the words of Christ are already built up a little taller than the houses around us who have not claimed to build their lives on Christ. When we proclaim that our teacher is Jesus, we automatically put ourselves on a pedestal in the eyes of the public. We are claiming the position of a city set on a hill and a light on a lampstand. We become visible to others in a way that before our claimed allegiance to Christ we were not.

Perhaps it is at that point that a house crashing because of a poorly built foundation becomes more than just a house crashing. It becomes a house crashing that is a "great crash."

Just think about how much longer the public will disdain a well known preacher who has a serious lapse in judgment. Think about how much harder and longer a child's rebellion is when the parents profess one thing but live another as opposed to the child who rebels but who has parents who walk the walk and talk the talk. How much harder is it for someone who has turned from their faith when they are disappointed with God over the death of a loved one, than for someone who has never listened to Christ's words when the tragedy happens? How much more painful is a problem in the church than a problem in the workplace?

Before we begin listening each week to the words of Christ in the Sermon on the Mount, I think it is simply worth reminding ourselves that once we have heard these words, we take on ourselves the possibility for a real blessing or a real curse. It all depends on what we do with our hands, feet, thoughts, and mouths after the words have come into our ears.

May we each VOW to pursue the blessing of a house built on the rock.