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Unless

             Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain. In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat— for he grants sleep to those he loves. Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their opponents in court. (Psalm 127)

I’ve said before that wisdom is understanding and dealing with reality as reality. So how do we handle this wisdom psalm? Has anyone ever seen the Lord build a house? One day, the lot across the street is empty. Then, while no one comes to do any work, a basement appears, then the framing, etc. Or the whole thing instantly appears. While I believe such a thing is possible, I do not believe it to be the one and only understanding of the Lord building a house. Throughout Scripture, you find people stepping in to help God build a “house” or to fix the house He’d built: Adam and Eve, the people prior to Noah, the builders of Babylon, Abram and Sarai, Rachel and Jacob, Joseph (in correcting which of Isaac’s hands was on which child), the Israelites, and Saul. Then David came along and God said that He would build a house for David. Solmon was David’s son, so he was part of the house. As people worked within the parameters God decreed, the houses stood and grew. And when the people didn’t, the houses didn’t.

Then, there is another sense in which The Lord builds houses. He set up the physical universe, meaning that He provides the supplies and tools needed to build houses. If we work within the natural laws He established, the buildings, families, and societies we construct are likely to stand. If we ignore the supplies, tools, and laws He created, the house isn’t going to last because it will be made of nothing, using nothing, and according to no physical laws.

The other places we tend to put our trust: in the military and our defenses, in our ambition and hard work, and in what we believe to be our legacies and investments (children) can be seen in the same way. This is one of the reasons I believe that any philosophy, culture, or government that is set up to replace God or that dismisses God is doomed to failure. You’re free to disagree, but the challenge you face is in building your house without anything that God created, and it’s up to you to prove you aren’t a thief.

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