Mensa Otabil - Be a Builder (10/24/2025)
Welcome to a brand new week. This week we are going to look at the Book of Proverbs, specifically Proverbs Chapter 14. There are lessons we will learn about wisdom and things we need to do to make our lives better and pleasing to the Lord. We start with Proverbs Chapter 14, verse 1: «The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish pulls it down with her hands.» This passage, or proverb, addresses builders and destroyers. Although the focus is on a woman, the general lesson applies to both men and women, as well as young people. It discusses those who build and those who destroy.
The first thing we learn is that wise people build things. The wise woman builds; the wise man builds. It is hard to build anything; it takes a lot of effort to build whether you’re constructing your life, home, career, or anything else. Frequently, in the Bible, builders are described as wise people. The concept of building goes beyond the physical act of putting materials together; it also involves nurturing, care, and the effort required to build something. Building is not just about erecting structures; it’s also about maintaining what you have put up.
It’s very easy for a person to start something but difficult to keep it working. It’s like marriage: very easy to get married, very easy to have a wedding, but it takes wisdom to build it, make it work, sustain it, and maintain it. Whatever we do, the beginning is easy, but the building process is also a maintenance process. A wise person doesn’t just start building; they maintain what they have built. If we consider ourselves wise, then whatever we start doing, whatever we build, we must ensure that it is maintained.
The passage states that the foolish person pulls down everything with her hands. It is very easy to tear things down. The easiest thing to do is to demolish something. Have you seen a demolition exercise? In about 30 minutes, a building that took probably six months to a year, or even longer, can be brought down. This shows how easy it is to tear down. That is why it is so easy to criticize people and destroy their efforts. It’s the easiest part in life to set aside what others are doing and simply tear it down.
It takes only a day to have a glamorous wedding, but it’s so easy to ruin everything afterward. So, what kind of person are you? Are you a builder or a destroyer? That is a choice we have to make, but the one that God commends to us is to be builders. Ensure that every day of your life, you are building something: your life, your work, your family. Build things but also maintain what you have built, so that what you have built continues to stand year after year after year.
That’s what God calls us to be: wise people who build and not foolish people who tear down everything. May the Lord give us the grace to be builders of lives and builders of good things. Let’s pray. Say with me: «Heavenly Father, I want to be a builder. Help me nurture and grow everything you have given me. In Jesus' name, Amen and amen.» Well, I’ll catch you again tomorrow. I’m Pastor Mensa Otabil. Shalom, peace, and life to you.