Unless The Lord Builds
Psalm 127
1Unless the Lord builds the house,
the builders labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city,
the guards stand watch in vain.
2 In vain you rise early
and stay up late,
toiling for food to eat—
for he grants sleep to those he loves.
3 Children are a heritage from the Lord,
offspring a reward from him.
4 Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
are children born in one’s youth.
5 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.
Ruth 4:1-10
Meanwhile Boaz went up to the town gate and sat down there just as the guardian-redeemer he had mentioned came along. Boaz said, “Come over here, my friend, and sit down.” So he went over and sat down.
2 Boaz took ten of the elders of the town and said, “Sit here,” and they did so. 3 Then he said to the guardian-redeemer, “Naomi, who has come back from Moab, is selling the piece of land that belonged to our relative Elimelek. 4 I thought I should bring the matter to your attention and suggest that you buy it in the presence of these seated here and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, do so. But if you will not, tell me, so I will know. For no one has the right to do it except you, and I am next in line.”
“I will redeem it,” he said.
5 Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the land from Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Moabite, the dead man’s widow, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property.”
6 At this, the guardian-redeemer said, “Then I cannot redeem it because I might endanger my own estate. You redeem it yourself. I cannot do it.”
7 (Now in earlier times in Israel, for the redemption and transfer of property to become final, one party took off his sandal and gave it to the other. This was the method of legalizing transactions in Israel.)
8 So the guardian-redeemer said to Boaz, “Buy it yourself.” And he removed his sandal.
9 Then Boaz announced to the elders and all the people, “Today you are witnesses that I have bought from Naomi all the property of Elimelek, Kilion and Mahlon. 10 I have also acquired Ruth the Moabite, Mahlon’s widow, as my wife, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property, so that his name will not disappear from among his family or from his hometown. Today you are witnesses!”
Romans 5:6-11
6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! 10 For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11 Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
The three passages of scripture for today are all about “building” in some form or fashion: building a home, a family, a career, or a life. The Lord’s engagement is essential for such an endeavor to not only survive, but thrive. It is vital to acknowledge that we are partners with God when it comes to how our lives are “built”. We have choices to make, which opens us all to the issue of wisdom and folly regarding such choices.
Learning to make good choices usually doesn’t come naturally. It requires practice. Mistakes are amazingly efficient “teachers” if you’re paying attention and truly desire better outcomes. I was reminded of this a few years ago while in Texas with a group of folks who had volunteered to help with cleaning up after a hurricane struck Port Arthur. There were 14 of us from California, who had made the trip down there. Volunteers from other states joined together and the lot of us were then split up into teams. It was mostly fun and certainly memorable.
My team was assigned a home that had already been cleaned and was ready for repairs and renovation. Having been involved in projects like this previously, I asked the team leader about “building permits”. His answer was that none were needed, which made sense in a way since we were not changing room dimensions or the footprint of the building. However, he then added this statement: We don’t have building codes for this sort of thing. I was sure I had misheard or misunderstood so I asked for clarification. He doubled down on his remark. No, we don’t need a building permit, no one does around here. If you’re building your own home you’re free to do what you want. After all, you will be the ones living in it. If you want to cut corners, or use cheap materials and do shoddy work, have at it. It’s your house. If it falls down blame yourself. Score: freedom 1, nanny state 0.
So, choices matter. Indeed they do. This brings me back to Psalm 127 and the word of wisdom embedded in the first verse: “Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain.” The wise “builder” keeps that in mind. Whether it’s our house, or family, or life, or career, organization, or a company, we do well to factor in the wisdom of God in the choices we make as these aspects of our daily life unfold.
The apostle Paul highlights this feature in his first letter to the church in Corinth. He acknowledges that we have options among which we make choices. His example in chapter 3 of that letter focuses on the choices involved in “building” either a home or a life. Paul points out that we could choose “gold, silver and precious stones” OR we could freely choose “wood, hay and stubble.” All six of these choices are freely available. You decided. However, he cautions, know this: the test for the building will be “fire”, so choose wisely.
To be sure, says Paul, you will survive the test because God is faithful (Cf. Ruth 4 &Romans 5), but the choices you make in how you “partner” with God to “build” your life matter. Psalm 127 advises we inquire of the Lord whenever we have “life-critical” choices to make. Sort of that we labor in vain. May the Lord grant you the wisdom you desire such that you will someday hear these words: “Well done, good and faithful servant.”