In the final example from the concluding section of Jesus’ speech, he prompts us to consider our foundations. Are we going to build our lives on what he has said? Are we going to allow him to dictate our decisions? Are we going to hear his words and do them? That is the fundamental challenge that he issues. To help us in our response, we should consider the different outcomes that flow from different decisions.

Beginning with the house built on the sand: that kind of foundation is a foolish decision when you know that there is rain coming. The sand will move, your house will move with it and your walls will fall in. It might be an easier build, but it is a build that will result in your ruin.

Today, we know of many competent people who build their lives with a lot of skill, energy, and diligence. All around us, men and women are hard at work to make the best of their time on earth. For some of them, and often for some of us, our foundation, our guiding principle is to be happy. In every choice we make, we think, what will make me happy? And so if there is a difficult relationship, we leave. If our job is a challenge, we look to move on. My comfort, my pleasure, the pursuit of happiness is a strong motivator.

Another motto we often hear is to be firm and make sure no one takes advantage of you. Learn to say no. Don not let anyone get away with deceiving you. Or there is the idea that rules are for others but not for me. Life built on the thrill of rebellion and living dangerously.

Those coming from a middle-class background must not forget the allure of education. How many of us grow up being taught that education is the key to life? It is the message we hear in school assemblies; it is the message we hear from parents, many of whom are more than willing to live far away from their children as long as they get a good education.

These are some of the foundations on which we typically build our lives, and we are generally reluctant to question them. We receive them from the world around us; they are the broad road pattern by which people live; we fall in without a second thought. Now comes Jesus and he says that this foundation, these foundations, will lead to ruin. They will not last in the storms of this life and they will not last when it comes to the day of judgment. Where is your comfort when your educated child never calls or comes to visit? Where is your comfort when your pursuit of happiness results in divorcing your third spouse? What will you do when being firm and making sure no one takes advantage means you have no real friends because you never open up and let people into your life? Or if the rules finally catch up with you?

Worldly foundations might be popular, but they are not permanent fixes and they certainly will not last when it comes to the end of life. The day of judgment will be a dreadful day for many people, and it is certainly coming, as certainly as the rain in Jesus’ story. How foolish to live with your head in the sand, foolish to make decisions with a focus only on the here and now.