Monday, September 20, 2010

Under Construction: How Strong is Your Relationship?

(Mini Personal Bible Study)

In reading Matthew 7:24-27 (*scripture written below), one can take these verses in a literal way – a house needs to be built on a firm foundation to withstand the elements. It can also be looked at it as a person needs to have a firm foundation in Christ in order to withstand the obstacles in their life, etc. However, the word ‘wise’ stuck out to me at the time I read this passage. ‘Wise’ in this instance refers to the use practical wisdom in relationships with others.


When one goes looking to buy a house it is important to look at the foundation and to look for indications of foundational issues. Just because a foundation has had work done doesn’t make it a bad thing. It can actually make the foundation stronger than it was before. This is also true of people who have broken their bones. The bone can actually heal and become stronger and resistant to another break than it was previously. This is where I made the connection to relationships…see this comes around full circle at some point.

One man built his house on a rock (which is stable, solid, impervious to water, wind, etc.) and another man built his house on the sand (which is loose and can be easily washed away or blown by the wind). In terms of relationships, we know it is important to start a relationship with the proper foundation (ie. trust, honesty, good communication, respect, etc.). However, when problems arise it would be wise to reinforce the relationship’s foundation and do repairs while the cracks are small or your relationship could end up sitting on sand (which in some cases is actually rocks that have been broken into small pieces by crashing waves and erosion), making your relationship susceptible to being washed or blown away. You can also look at the sand as something superficial and does not have longevity. The scripture I Samuel 16:7 came to mind: “…for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart”. You have to wonder why the foolish man even wanted to build on the sand. Was it made of bright blue glass? Did it glisten in the sun? This can be transferred to building a relationship based strictly on someone’s outward appearance (similar to Shallow Hal) or may be some other temporal thing like money, status, etc.

Just like the wind, the forces that come against your relationship are not always visible to the human eye. Being wise (“govern and discipline oneself by use of reason, skill and good judgment in use of resources; and caution or circumspection as to danger or risk” – Merriam Webster) before entering/establishing a relationship with someone is important if you want it to last. This is true with all relationships – mother/daughter, father/son, friendships, marriages, etc. It is the foolish (“scorns a man’s heart and character” – Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible) man that is “rejected or dismissed as contemptible or unworthy” (Merriam-Webster) that loses everything in the storm.


*Below are the text from my two study Bibles:


Matthew 7:24-27 “The Wise and Foolish Builders” (Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible - NIV)

24“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

Matthew 7:24-27 “Building on a Firm Foundation” (Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible – KJV)

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:
25And 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.
26And 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:
27And 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.

No comments:

Post a Comment