Firstly, this isn’t my house. It’s a Pexels.com pic 😀. Secondly, I never built any kind of physical house, and I’ve built little in my house. I can’t remember doing much DIY at all. I think that I might have made bookshelves at one stage. My father and father-in-law were hugely helpful in terms of DIY. I remember taking a slight interest when I first got married. But after that, we didn’t need much DIY done. And it all stopped. I slightly regret how we’ve lost so many skills in my generation. You do get skilled people in rural areas, but I’ve met few people in my generation who match the skill level of my parent’s generation. We’re all a bit spoilt.
So, I’ll use a spiritual metaphor. I’ve built my house on a rock. I’ll probably be accused of being too heavenly minded to be of any earthly use 😀.
I think of the parable that Jesus told about two builders. One built his house on sand, a weak foundation. The other built on a rock.
Matthew 7:24-27
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. 25 The 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. 26 But 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. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
I also think of the words of the Apostle Paul. Paul was an Apostle but often made his living through practical work, namely tentmaking. The best kinds of missionaries have always been those who were skilled in all sorts of practical ways, and not just spiritually minded.
1 Thess 4:11-12
11 and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, 12 so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.
Thankfully, I did work with my hands for much of my life. In earlier years, it was engineering, and in later years it was IT. And even in my full-time Christian work, much of the work was practical in some respects. I don’t think that Paul meant you literally had to work with your hands. I think he was targeting those who lived off others and didn’t do any work because they felt spiritually above work. And you do meet people like that at times.
But if I were starting again, I think that I would want to be more useful in practical terms. I do greatly admire Christian workers who would be useful in any kind of a job. I don’t quite know where I fit in. Maybe I’ll give myself six out of ten, but I’d rather get nine out of ten 😀.
Here are some songs that are somewhat based on building your house on a rock.
Hibernia Gospel 