Parable of the Wise and Foolish Builders (Parable by Jesus)

Jesus gave us the parable of Wise and Foolish Builders in Matthew 7:24-27 in which he said the following:

“Every one then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house upon the rock; and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.  And every one who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house upon the sand; and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell;and great was the fall of it.”

 

Jesus in the above parable wants us to understand the importance of both hearing his words and also acting on them. There are people who only hear the words of Jesus but do not act on it. Then we have people who both hear and act on the Word of God. Now, both of these types of people will keep building their life and achievements.

And they will face challenges and tough times as well. Only those who have acted on the words of the Lord Jesus will prevail and those who do not act, will suffer great losses. The most dangerous of such losses is when a person loses his or her soul to the Evil One at the time of death because of not abiding by the Word of God in their thoughts, words and actions.

 

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. (James 1:22)

 

Wise and foolish builder; Icon fresco from Hilandari Monastery, Mount Athos

Proverbs 17

17 Better is a dry morsel with quiet
    than a house full of feasting with strife.
² A servant who deals wisely will rule over a son who acts shamefully
    and will share the inheritance as one of the brothers.
³ The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,
    and the Lord tests hearts.
⁴ An evildoer listens to wicked lips,
    and a liar gives ear to a mischievous tongue.
⁵ Whoever mocks the poor insults his Maker;
    he who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished.
⁶ Grandchildren are the crown of the aged,
    and the glory of children is their fathers.
⁷ Fine speech is not becoming to a fool;
    still less is false speech to a prince.
⁸ A bribe is like a magic stone in the eyes of the one who gives it;
    wherever he turns he prospers.
⁹ Whoever covers an offense seeks love,
    but he who repeats a matter separates close friends.
¹⁰ A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding
    than a hundred blows into a fool.
¹¹ An evil man seeks only rebellion,
    and a cruel messenger will be sent against him.
¹² Let a man meet a she-bear robbed of her cubs
    rather than a fool in his folly.
¹³ If anyone returns evil for good,
    evil will not depart from his house.
¹⁴ The beginning of strife is like letting out water,
    so quit before the quarrel breaks out.
¹⁵ He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous
    are both alike an abomination to the Lord.
¹⁶ Why should a fool have money in his hand to buy wisdom
    when he has no sense?
¹⁷ A friend loves at all times,
    and a brother is born for adversity.
¹⁸ One who lacks sense gives a pledge
    and puts up security in the presence of his neighbor.
¹⁹ Whoever loves transgression loves strife;
    he who makes his door high seeks destruction.
²⁰ A man of crooked heart does not discover good,
    and one with a dishonest tongue falls into calamity.
²¹ He who sires a fool gets himself sorrow,
    and the father of a fool has no joy.
²² A joyful heart is good medicine,
    but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
²³ The wicked accepts a bribe in secret
    to pervert the ways of justice.
²⁴ The discerning sets his face toward wisdom,
    but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.
²⁵ A foolish son is a grief to his father
    and bitterness to her who bore him.
²⁶ To impose a fine on a righteous man is not good,
    nor to strike the noble for their uprightness.
²⁷ Whoever restrains his words has knowledge,
    and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.
²⁸ Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise;
    when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent

Reflection: Receive God’s commandments

The wise in heart will receive commandments: but a prating fool shall fall. (Proverbs 10:8)

To receive God’s commandments is no small thing. Many fools reject it out right. And they get their due reward; eternal judgment and damnation. The wise are not like them. They choose to receive God’s commandments with eagerness to glorify him. These who are in Christ will receive the joys of eternal life and the crown of glory.

Staying away from foolish people

Stay away from a foolish man; you will gain no knowledge from his speech. Proverbs 14:7

Though this proverb is self-explanatory it’s very important to actually apply it in your day-to-day life. It’s not enough to acknowledge the existence of the fact that people who are foolish talk no knowledge, you must stay away from them.

This doesn’t mean that you stop caring for people!

The Lord is very clear on this in the Bible. Here are a few scriptures:

• Leviticus 19:18 Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.
• John 13:34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.

Now just as you are told to love one another, you are also expected to walk in wisdom. The same Bible that speaks of love also strongly suggests keeping away from foolish people with good reason.

You must guard yourself against foolishness especially heresies and godlessness!

• Titus 3:10 Avoid a man who is a heretic after the first and second admonitions
• 2 Timothy 2:16 Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly.
• 2 Timothy 2:23 Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels.

You must give no opportunity to the devil in everything especially your speech and hearing.

Ephesians 4:25-29 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.  Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

Jesus too kept away from people when they spoke foolishness.

The main thing was that some people were trying to keep his mind off the will of God, no wonder Jesus didn’t entertain their foolish talk either. He got away from their words of foolishness, what about you?

Matthew 16: 22-23 Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Jesus, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You.” But Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.”

My suggestion is that you start applying Proverbs 14:7 everywhere. Like at watching movies or comedies on TV, being at a concert, having a meal with friends etc. If there is foolishness spoken and no wisdom, understand that you need to reject it and get away from those situations no matter who feels what about you. Obviously make a polite excuse to get away. Don’t waste time listening to people who keep talking perverse things. This will save your time and also your mental energy which you can apply for some good work or prayer.

God bless you for reading!

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