Proverbs 25:28
Like
a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self control.
I
saw a story the other day about professional golfer John Daley, who admitted in
an interview that he has lost over $55 million while gambling over the course
of his career. He also admitted that his gambling losses are likely related to
his issues with alcohol. He has also been married and divorced several times.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that John Daley is a man living without
walls!
The
story of Nehemiah begins with the news that the walls of Jerusalem are broken
down and its gates are burned with fire. We are told that, therefore, the
people are in trouble and in disgrace because their city has no walls.
In
truth, the same can sometimes be true about our lives.
Proverbs 25:28
Like
a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self control.
I think of a college classmate of mine who started with me as a freshman. We became good friends but by the end of that year he had started to drink at parties on the weekends. By the next year he was drinking every weekend and sometimes on weeknights in our dorm room. By our third year his drinking forced him to drop out of school because he could no longer keep up with his studies. He had become a young man without walls.
I
think of married couples that have come to me over the years; husbands and
wives who, at one time, had been deeply in love but over the years had failed
build strong and stable walls around their marriage. Eventually those marriages
crumbled and fell apart.
I
think of families I have known that, despite 6 figure incomes, wound up depending
on community food pantries due to falling into crushing debt. Those are
families without strong walls.
A
life, a marriage, a family without walls is a life, a marriage or a family
without foundations; without protection; without boundaries; out of control in
some way and vulnerable to all kinds of dangers.
Spiritually
speaking, it’s a life
without God’s word, God’s protection or God’s presence.
Jesus
spoke about such lives in the Sermon on the Mount.
Matthew
7:24-27
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. 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. But everyone who hears these words of mine and
does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who builds his house on
sand. The rain came down and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it
fell with a great crash.
So
how strong are your spiritual walls? How firm are your foundations?
We
build the walls of our lives by reading, understanding and applying the truth
of God’s word. We
strengthen those walls through prayer and personal devotion. We strengthen
those walls by sharing worship, fellowship and service as part of the church of
Jesus Christ.
When
our walls and foundations are strong and secure we are prepared for whatever
storm life may bring. But if our walls are poorly built; and if our foundations
are shallow; then even the smallest of squalls is enough to threaten our house, our relationships and our faith.
Pastor Brian Coffey
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