​My wife and I have been joyfully married for a few months shy of 34 years. We’ve raised two amazing daughters and have worked in ministry throughout all those years. In our “wounderful” (not misspelled—you’ll understand in a minute) years of marriage, my wife has been the victim of my shoddy, inexperienced construction skills several times, particularly with me hanging porch swings. The third swing I’d hung was soon after we bought our second home. We bought a porch swing for our brand-new spec house so we could relax and enjoy our time together as we started our mornings or when we were winding down from a busy, hectic day in the evenings. I used the biggest screws and the sturdiest chains I could find for this swing. I hung it on the back of the carport, overlooking our backyard, where we could watch the sun rise and set every day.

On one destined day, after months of sitting in the judiciously hung porch swing, my wife once again collapsed with the swing to the concrete floor 3 feet below. I had measured for it to be perfectly positioned in the middle of the 4x4 inch beam. I was bewildered as to how this tragedy could have happened again. The beam, however, was covered with vinyl siding and, instead of pulling back the siding and looking at the beam, I assumed that there was a 4x4 inch beam to drill into. To my embarrassment and shame, that was not the case. I had drilled and screwed the large eye bolts directly in between the two 2x4 inch pieces that made up the beam. After months of swinging, the bolts that didn’t have much wood to firmly secure them gave way, and “boom!” My wife once again became a victim of my construction skills. Or, should I say, my lack of skills. To this day she twitches and shakes when she sees a porch swing. (She really doesn’t, but I wouldn’t blame her if she did.) 

Whether we like it or not, we’re all builders. We are all building something. We’re construction workers, building our lives. No matter if you’re a teenager, middle-aged, or about to enter retirement, you are building your life. The question I ask you is this: What and who are you building your life on?

I may not be a very good construction worker, but I do understand the process of building something. The first and most important part of any building project is the foundation. You start out with your dirt. How good the dirt is you are building on is extremely important. I didn’t realize there were different kinds of dirt you should and should not build on until we began our new building project for Resurrection Life Church. As a young boy, I thought all dirt was good as long as I was playing in it. However, there is good dirt and bad dirt. Some dirt is loose, mushy, has lots of organics in it, and doesn’t compact well. It’s not good for building anything of lasting value on. Then you have your good dirt, which is tight, strong, clean, compacts well, and is great for building a structure on that will last a lifetime. Here is another question: what kind of dirt are you building on? If it is money, fame, possessions, education, or anything else other than Jesus Christ and who He is, it is “bad” dirt. Yes, it is dirt, and you can build on it; but what you build on it is not going to last.