Mensa Otabil - The Foolish Builder (10/04/2025)
Yesterday, we talked about the wise builder; today we’re looking at the opposite of the wise builder: unfortunately, the foolish builder. We look at Matthew chapter 7, verses 26 and 27: «But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain descended, the floods came, the winds blew, and beat on that house, and it fell, and great was its fall.» As I said yesterday, this parable is about how we relate to God’s word, but Jesus is actually likening His word to a reality of His time regarding how people built their houses. There were people who built on the rock and those who built on the sand, and He is comparing those realities to how people approach His word.
He talks about the foolish builder- the foolish builder builds on the sand. Now, as I mentioned yesterday, it’s not so much about the materials they build with as it is about where they build their houses. You can have the best materials, the best education, the best information, the best network, and the best friends, but if you build wrongly in the wrong place, all of that investment will go to waste. The house on the rock withstands the storms of life, while the house on the sand does not.
What is it about the foolish person, the wrong kind of builder, that does not allow their building to stand? First, they are influenced by surface appearances. They look at the terrain, and as I said yesterday, in the place where Jesus grew up, sometimes sand can be hardened. The only thing that can test that hardened sand is water or rain, and so the foolish man looks at the sand and says it looks hard today, it seems stable today, and they build on it. They don’t go deep; they settle for the superficial. They look for things that impress people. They want to build quickly, seeking applause, wanting to take pictures for Instagram and Facebook, aiming for bragging rights that they succeeded first. They are very quick to act and don’t take time to analyze or consider the other aspects, such as what can go wrong and how to hedge against it; that is the foolish builder-surface people influenced by appearances.
Secondly, they settle on shifting ground. They don’t settle on solid ground; sand moves. Sand is a weak foundation for building your life, your marriage, a nation, or a company. There is nothing firm in the sand. When we look for shifting grounds, what is in vogue, or what is popular, we become like this builder. We find whatever seems available and decide to use it. It’s all about fitting in, blending in, becoming like everybody else, and doing what everyone is doing. That’s the problem with this builder.
Thirdly, they build for short-term success. They are only impressed with how people applaud them today and not about how it will look like tomorrow. Listen, everything we build in life takes time and effort, and it’s not good for effort to be wasted. It’s painful when what you’ve built doesn’t work. Let us ensure that our foundations are right so that what is built will endure adversity because, as I said yesterday, adversity will come. Your life will be buffeted; whatever you build will be buffeted.
However, if you build right, you will be sustained and endure. Unfortunately, the house on the sand, as Jesus said, fell flat, and great was its fall. I am persuaded that will not be your testimony; I am persuaded that will not be your story, and I pray that your life doesn’t end this way. I pray that God will bless you with wisdom to lay the right foundations for your life.
Let us pray. Say with me, «Heavenly Father, help me to be a hearer and doer of Your word. Enable me to build things that endure.» In Jesus' name, amen and amen. Well, I’ll catch you again tomorrow. I’m Pastor Mensa Otabil. Shalom, peace, and life to you.