Building the Right Edifice



Prov 14:11 NIV) The house of the wicked will be destroyed, but the tent of the upright will flourish.



This morning we continue our series, In this chapter Solomon has been contrasting the life of the wicked (or the ungodly) with the life of the righteous. In this verse he plainly tells us that ultimate end of the house of the wicked is destruction. If their end is destruction, then what is our end?



What's the contrast? He tells us that our tent (or our dwelling place) shall flourish. The house that the wicked build with materials of their life's work will ultimately be destroyed, but the house that we, the believers, build with the materials of our life's work will not only remain, but it will prosper; it will stand long and strong.

Solomon said something similar in a psalm he wrote (Psalm 127). In that psalm he said, "Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain" (v.1). Notice that both the Godly and the wicked work, they both labor, they both make investments into their own lives, and they both strive to achieve things in life.



But those who attempt to live their lives without God, who try to do everything on their own and with their own strength, eventually find out that their labor was in vain. The wicked put all sorts of work into their lives, they pursue human achievement, but they do it without God; all the while believing that they are building some great edifice. They are saddened when they realize that life without God is not true life at all.



The Message Bible translation of our focus text reads: "Lives of careless wrongdoing are tumbledown shacks; holy living builds soaring cathedrals." Do you want to build a shack or a cathedral with your life? Do you want your life's work to be destroyed or do you want it to flourish? If you want it to remain, then you must endeavor to do what you do WITH God and not without Him.



I remember when I first gave my life to Christ; there was an older lady in the church who used to say to me , "Baby, only what you do for God will last."

In John's first letter he said, "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him." The word "world" here is a reference to a certain way of doing things - the way that DOES NOT include God.



In essence John was saying, "Don't seek to do things without God, because if you do it proves that you don't really love Him." John went on to say, "For everything in the world-the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does-comes not from the Father but from the world."



Did you catch that? The world's way of doing things, the way that does not include God, is a way full of lust and pride. It is all about what we can do and not about what God can do through us; it's about human achievement and not divine empowerment.



John then closes it out by saying, "The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever" (see 1st John 2:15-17).

So what does this mean to you? It means that you have a choice. You can either live your life on human effort and seek human achievement alone, or you can live with your with God, with His help, with His empowerment, and for His purposes.

Both ways will build an edifice, but only the way with God will build something that will Stand and Stand Forever!

Father, I thank You for making it clear to me that there are two ways. I can either live with You or without You. I can choose to live my life based upon human effort and achievement alone or I can seek to fulfill your purposes for my life, with the Power of Your Spirit operating through my life. I have made my choice. I choose to live with, in, and for You! I choose Your way and not the way of the world. I seek to live a life that produces an everlasting testament of Your goodness. My labor shall not be in vain. I labor with You, all that I do stands, and it shall stand forever! In Jesus' name. Amen!