What does having the wrong foundation do to your life?

Your foundation determines your future.

 What does having the wrong foundation do to your life? That’s the big idea Jesus wants us to remember.

Having the right foundation is specially true for young people because they have such a great opportunity ahead of them to do things right, which the devil is trying really hard to mess up and get them to do it wrong, but young people, this is a game changer for you. Your foundation determines your future.  But here’s the scary thing, we never think about what does having the wrong foundation do to your life. The “foundation” we’re building our lives on is our character.  Do we just react and do whatever feels good in the moment? 

The wrong foundation succumbs to the storm:  Luke 6:49

That’s the game changing question—“Why do you call Me ‘Lord,’ but do not do the things which I say?”  In the next three verses, Jesus gives the game changing answer.  

Furthermore, to unpack Jesus’ answer about the foundation we have for our life, look at what not to do in verse 49 first. Then, we’ll conclude with what to do.  To rephrase Luke 6:49, the wrong foundation succumbs to the storm.  Bad stuff will always happen, storms will always come, and if you have the wrong foundation for your life, you are doomed to failure. 

Four lessons we learn from this verse:

1. Hearing and doing nothing is a very foolish choice.  You’ve probably heard the saying, “Knowledge is power.”  That’s a falsehood.  In Jesus’ story, this man heard it; he knew it.  He had lots of knowledge, but it didn’t help him.  According to Jesus, knowledge you do something with, knowledge you act on, is power.  That’s really how the saying should go.  So what does having the wrong foundation do to your life? In this example, this foolish person built a house (which represents your life) on the sand (according to Matthew) without a foundation. 
2.  Living a life with “no-foundation” life takes no effort.  It’s very easy to do.  You just go with the flow of everybody else around you and whatever they’re doing and whatever feels good.  This type of life does not require you to swim against the current and do things nobody else is doing, so it takes no energy at all.
3. Having a life with “no-foundation” takes no time.  Without a foundation, you can finish your house much quicker, in a fraction of the time and you can have instant gratification. But it comes at a price.  Do you know what that price is?  Unfortunately, you find out when the storm comes and when things get rough.
4. You will not achieve the good life you want for yourself.  A life with “no-foundation” ends in disaster. All you will end up with is heartache and sadness, pain and regrets.  For example, today’s entertainment culture is designed by the devil to cause you to build a “no-foundation” life. In today’s world where you can’t put your phone down for 5 minutes or you start to twitch and get nervous; where you can’t concentrate on school work or your job because all you’re thinking about is the next soundbite or youtube clip or Facebook post, and you only do something useful for as little time as you’re forced to and you can’t wait to watch the next movie—this entertainment culture is wrecking you.  It’s programing you into a no-foundation life.  

The right foundation survives the storm:  Luke 6:47, 48

So what does having the wrong foundation do to your life?  The wrong foundation succumbs to the storm, while the right foundation survives the storm.  Nevertheless, life can bring on any bad thing it wants against you, but if you build your life withy a good foundation, you will stand strong and it will bounce off you like water off a duck’s back. 

The opportunity to build a good foundation exists for everyone.

In Luke 6:47, “Whoever” is in the beginning of this verse. That’s right, I want you to know something. God makes the playing field level for everyone.  Jesus said “Whoever comes to Me”. For Jesus to say that was a game changer, because for the Jews, it was all about privilege.  They were the chosen people, after all.  They were special.  They had rights and privileges and blessings no one else could have, or so they thought.  And even as a Jew, there were levels of privilege. 

But Jesus changed the game, he blew their minds.  He said, “The opportunity is the same, whoever you are.”  The opportunity is the same for every one of us!! Whoever you are, there is an equal opportunity for you.  Building a good foundation works whether you’re young or old, smart or not so smart.  It works whether you’ve already messed your life up or not, whether you’re male or female, rich or poor, educated or uneducated, black or white or any color in between.  Whoever you are, you can build the right foundation.  No matter what your circumstances may be right now, you have an equal opportunity.