Unless the Lord builds the house, those who labor build it in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. (Verse 1)
Life minus the Lord. Trying to imagine for myself what that would be like. The emptiness of soul. The lack of purpose. Grasping for meaning in idols that are meaningless. Futility of life, really.
Solomon wrote this psalm of wisdom. It smacks of his style. The theme of vanity. That all we do while we are here burns up and is lost. If we are disconnected from the Source of Life while we sojourn on the planet, our lives are essentially pointless. Why watch over a heritage that is hopeless? Guard a city that God has no interest in saving? Build a house without His guidance and approval? What's the point? If our God is preeminent over all things and turns His gaze away from what we are doing, we might as well give up. We have placed ourselves in competition with His will, thinking our giftings and our prowess are all we need to succeed. And some do, of course. Here. But it is vain for them. Empty of real satisfaction. Some of the most successful people in the world are destitute of peace.
Let's say I build a house for myself that God has nothing to do with. I hire an architect and a contractor to fashion my dream home. In my mind, it would look great on the sand near the ocean. So, that's where I put it. My entire life savings are poured into the construction. I spare no expense. And I'm ecstatic when we move in. New furniture. Expensive drapes. Marble. Granite. A showplace. As the new wears off, the reality of the cost of the upkeep is staggering. My financial situation changes dramatically. And my dream is now my nightmare. I work harder. Stress keeps me awake at night. The house is tied up in my identity by then. What will people say if I lose it? No peace. Just struggle. And then the storm comes. Unexpected. Out of the west a typhoon. It levels my dream. I have lost everything. I have no recourse but my own self-reliance.
Let's say I build a life for myself that has nothing to do with God. It's not a far stretch. Many around me are doing just that. It's like wandering through the jungle with a machete not knowing the enemy or even which side of the fight is the good and which is the bad. The life void of God chops at every tree, eats poison plants, makes camp in evil territory, blindly. By virtue of chance, it works for them sometimes. It looks like things are turning out pretty well. Even when they don't know they have ceded their lives to the enemy. They set watch over all they've gained in the jungle. Stay awake nights in order to make sure their territory is safe. But they don't know safe from unsafe. Enemy from Avenger. And God is nowhere to be found. Nowhere. Not a part of their folly at all. He didn't help build their city. He won't help keep it. That is mesmerizingly horrifying to me.
I know Christians can lose every earthly thing, too. We can be caught in a web of shame set up to destroy us, yes. But it's the knowledge that God isn't even concerned about me I'm so self-reliant that is so terrifying. I may have built on bad soil before...I have...but I'm not lost to Him. I have guarded stuff He hates...in vain. But Jesus has been my Deliverer in my folly. Christ lives in me! I'm never separated from His eyes on my life and His hand on my journey, even when I rebel against it on occasion. Where would I be if I build for my own vanity? How can I be safe if I rely only on my own perspective? If the Lord isn't building in me, I won't have the wisdom to create anything of value outside of Him. We know, as Christians, that even the typhoon or the raid on our dwelling in the jungle can have purpose. That our God, Who never leaves us or forsakes us, is there when life rails against us. But without Him, it's all pointless. Fate and chance. And then we die.
Here is the amazing thing about the Lord. Even if He didn't build your house, doesn't live there, wasn't invited, the moment you ask Him in, He's there! There might be a need for structural changes and the rearranging of furniture (or even another home entirely), but that's the price for having God's company. You might be in the jungle with a dull machete, surrounded by the enemy you are finally able to see. Scared and destitute, all it takes is calling His Name for you to be watched over and protected. There isn't a situation far enough out there where God won't hear a cry for salvation! The One Who was completely uninterested in your situation when you were doing your own thing, suddenly wraps His Presence around the life given over to Him and makes all things brand new. By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches. Solomon. Proverbs 24
Life minus the Lord. Trying to imagine for myself what that would be like. The emptiness of soul. The lack of purpose. Grasping for meaning in idols that are meaningless. Futility of life, really.
Solomon wrote this psalm of wisdom. It smacks of his style. The theme of vanity. That all we do while we are here burns up and is lost. If we are disconnected from the Source of Life while we sojourn on the planet, our lives are essentially pointless. Why watch over a heritage that is hopeless? Guard a city that God has no interest in saving? Build a house without His guidance and approval? What's the point? If our God is preeminent over all things and turns His gaze away from what we are doing, we might as well give up. We have placed ourselves in competition with His will, thinking our giftings and our prowess are all we need to succeed. And some do, of course. Here. But it is vain for them. Empty of real satisfaction. Some of the most successful people in the world are destitute of peace.
Let's say I build a house for myself that God has nothing to do with. I hire an architect and a contractor to fashion my dream home. In my mind, it would look great on the sand near the ocean. So, that's where I put it. My entire life savings are poured into the construction. I spare no expense. And I'm ecstatic when we move in. New furniture. Expensive drapes. Marble. Granite. A showplace. As the new wears off, the reality of the cost of the upkeep is staggering. My financial situation changes dramatically. And my dream is now my nightmare. I work harder. Stress keeps me awake at night. The house is tied up in my identity by then. What will people say if I lose it? No peace. Just struggle. And then the storm comes. Unexpected. Out of the west a typhoon. It levels my dream. I have lost everything. I have no recourse but my own self-reliance.
Let's say I build a life for myself that has nothing to do with God. It's not a far stretch. Many around me are doing just that. It's like wandering through the jungle with a machete not knowing the enemy or even which side of the fight is the good and which is the bad. The life void of God chops at every tree, eats poison plants, makes camp in evil territory, blindly. By virtue of chance, it works for them sometimes. It looks like things are turning out pretty well. Even when they don't know they have ceded their lives to the enemy. They set watch over all they've gained in the jungle. Stay awake nights in order to make sure their territory is safe. But they don't know safe from unsafe. Enemy from Avenger. And God is nowhere to be found. Nowhere. Not a part of their folly at all. He didn't help build their city. He won't help keep it. That is mesmerizingly horrifying to me.
I know Christians can lose every earthly thing, too. We can be caught in a web of shame set up to destroy us, yes. But it's the knowledge that God isn't even concerned about me I'm so self-reliant that is so terrifying. I may have built on bad soil before...I have...but I'm not lost to Him. I have guarded stuff He hates...in vain. But Jesus has been my Deliverer in my folly. Christ lives in me! I'm never separated from His eyes on my life and His hand on my journey, even when I rebel against it on occasion. Where would I be if I build for my own vanity? How can I be safe if I rely only on my own perspective? If the Lord isn't building in me, I won't have the wisdom to create anything of value outside of Him. We know, as Christians, that even the typhoon or the raid on our dwelling in the jungle can have purpose. That our God, Who never leaves us or forsakes us, is there when life rails against us. But without Him, it's all pointless. Fate and chance. And then we die.
Here is the amazing thing about the Lord. Even if He didn't build your house, doesn't live there, wasn't invited, the moment you ask Him in, He's there! There might be a need for structural changes and the rearranging of furniture (or even another home entirely), but that's the price for having God's company. You might be in the jungle with a dull machete, surrounded by the enemy you are finally able to see. Scared and destitute, all it takes is calling His Name for you to be watched over and protected. There isn't a situation far enough out there where God won't hear a cry for salvation! The One Who was completely uninterested in your situation when you were doing your own thing, suddenly wraps His Presence around the life given over to Him and makes all things brand new. By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches. Solomon. Proverbs 24
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