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THE WISE BUILDER
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them
will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain
fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that
house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock.
And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on
them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The
rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat
against that house, and it fell ― and great was its fall!”
If you’re a sports fan, you
know the mantra: Work on the fundamentals! It doesn’t matter if
we’re talking football, basketball, swimming, ice skating,
tennis, gymnastics, or sumo wrestling. Achievement in any sport
is fleeting unless the athlete is smart enough to build his
career on the fundamentals.
I’m a golfer, so Tiger
Woods is my poster boy. This guy’s been working on the
fundamentals since he was a baby. At age 2, he won a putting
contest against Bob Hope on TV. The next year, he played a
9-hole demo game on a California golf course and posted a score
of 48. Not a bad score for a 3-year-old. Actually, it would be a
pretty darn good score for me these days.
Since then, Tiger has
joined the ranks of one-name celebrities. He’s won every major
amateur and professional championship in his sport, not to
mention multimillions of dollars, great fame and a guaranteed
spot in the Golf Hall of Fame.
What makes Tiger so
different from other golfers? He is physically gifted, of
course, but most pro athletes are. Tiger is unique because he
learned the fundamentals of golf at a very early age and never
lost sight of them. His father drilled him over and over on the
correct grip, the correct swing and, most of all, the correct
mental attitude. Tiger’s father, Earl Woods, taught him a strict
physical and mental training regimen that Tiger practices to
this day. Tiger is Tiger because he has built his life on
foundational rock, not on celebrity sand.
Golf may seem a trivial
analogy for the Wise Builder mentioned in today’s parable. And
maybe it is trivial. Jesus wasn’t talking about a golf
tournament, after all. He was talking about life and how we live
it. Do we have our feet firmly planted in the Word before we
swing into action? Do we have faith that, when we do swing, we
will end up where we want to be? Are we even aiming in the right
direction?
It’s all about
fundamentals.
Creator God, you are the
foundation upon which we build. Keep us on the solid ground of
your promises. Amen
Tom Cronk
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