“Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain. ...”(Psalm 127: 1)
Solomon, the author of this psalm tells us that unless God builds our house, our efforts in building it are vain. We might think, “How can God stoop down from heaven and build a house? After all, isn’t this something we can do for ourselves? It is simply a matter of making a plan, gathering materials and putting them all together. Why does God need to be a part of house building?” But what we should know is God makes no distinction between what is sacred and what is secular. He is interested in every kind of work that we do. There is no work from which we can exclude God. And so God cares very much even when we build our houses. First He is concerned with how high a priority we place on our houses. For some people, having a house of their own is a goal which is absolutely consuming. The husband and wife may both work to earn the needed money. They may in the process, neglect their marriage and their family. But God has a very clear word as to our priorities in this matter. In Matthew 6: 31-33 He says, “So do not worry saying, “What shall we ea?t” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?” For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Second, God also cares about our motives in building a house. A house is a symbol of status in our society. We desire the best house we can buy in the “right” part of town. If our security is somewhat intertwined with earthly possessions, then we are trusting in materials things and not in God.
Dear friends, when we engage in building a house without God, our house-building is vain. When we have wrong priorities, wrong motives or wrong methods, God is not building our house with us. God cares about what we do, why we do it and how we do it. When we neglect our fellowship with God and with our fellow saints and are totally involved in house-building, it may divert our energy from seeking God’s Kingdom to building one of our own. Let us not replace the temporal with the eternal. Let us give priority to God in everything we do, including house-building.
*PRAYER* : Dear Lord, let me give You the top priority in house-building. Let me not neglect my fellowship with You., and let me also not neglect my family in my attempts to build the ‘best’ house in the ‘right’ place. Bless my efforts so that I will enjoy the blessing of my new home. Amen.
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