next: the house of the foolish man collapsed from the
force of the rain, floodwaters and wind, while the
house of the wise man stood strong against the ele-
ments. The point of the parable was made before the
conclusion; the outcomes were inevitable.
to fall in our lives. Yet people often display foolish
behavior in everyday circumstances when they lack
that solid foundation. Think of episodes of road rage,
or of customers admonishing store
clerks. It's not that irritation doesn't
trouble the wise, godly person. The
difference lies in how the wise and
the foolish react.
threaten to swallow us. The floods we
face might be a constant fight with depression, or liv-
ing or working in a hostile environment. The floods will
sweep us away if our foundations are not sure. The fool-
ish are washed away, but the wise stand firm.
pression. Christians live in a world that constantly
attacks righteousness, demeans purity and defines
These things sorely distress the child of God. The
great Bible teacher of a generation ago, Dr. Martin
Lloyd-Jones, remarked, "It is not so much that the
whether his foundation is going to hold."
the structure of what
internal strength. The
wise, who have built their
lives on Christ and have cul-
tivated a deeper and abiding relationship with Him,
will not only weather the storm but loudly proclaim,
wrong. When someone cries,
absence of God. He has based his
some idolatrous caricature of his own making, often
patched together with popular culture mumbo-
jumbo. In the end, not only is this kind of false reli-
gion wrong, it is useless.
help you can dig better foundations. When the storms
soul-life. Neglected buildings can fall into ruin and so
can you. Treasure what has been given to you.