The Characteristics of a Foolish Builder
Matthew 7:24-29
24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:
29 For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
The first characteristic of a foolish builder is the speed with which he builds. We see in this passage that the foolish builder did not take the time to dig down deep and build his house on a solid foundation. Rather, he started building on the sand. As a result, his building project went much faster than the construction of the wise man’s house.
“Speed is not always synonymous with success.”
The construction speed of the foolish man in our parable represents at least two significant habits of sin. First, we see he was willing to take shortcuts. He took a shortcut by not digging down to the rock. Sin has many shortcuts!
“Sin is always promising things now that God’s Word says later.”
Secondly, we see that his building was for show. All the constructing that the foolish builder did was construction that would show outwardly. Many times it is the outward religious acts that get the attention of others—leaving Christ out of the picture entirely. It is a show! There is nothing real in the heart of those who only conform outwardly. The bible says in Matthew 23:5, “But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,” Foolish builders have no depth to their spirituality. They are just the cosmetic finish to a shallow heart.
The second characteristic of a foolish builder is the stupidity with which he builds. The Lord calls this man a fool. The Greek word translated foolish in this text is the word which gives us our English word moron. This name really emphasizes the stupidity of the builder who built his house on the sand and not on a rock foundation.
Christ uses this word in our text as He did to describe the Christ-rejecters in Matthew 23:17, 19, “Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift?”
The stupidity of the foolish builder is not just seen in his name but also in his neglect. His neglect was willful because he heard Jesus Christ speak and chose not to obey. This parable is dealing with those who have heard Christ speak. It is not speaking of those who are ignorant of His will. The foolish builder heard Christ just as the wise builder did. He knew the right way to build but foolishly chose differently! “The foolish man is one that knows his duty, but lives in the neglect of it.” There will be no excuses accepted when we give an answer to God for our lives. When we do not do what we know we should, we are willfully rebelling against known truth. The Bible says in 2 Peter 3:5, “For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:”
Some know more truth than others. Luke 12:48 says, “But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.”
The foolish builder’s hypocrisy remained hidden. No one, at first, could see that his foundation didn’t rest in the deep recesses of the rock. Yet to his dismay, his home turned into a pile of rubble.
May we remember that all things are not what they appear to be—even in our own lives. And may we choose the path of the wise man.
