If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. (1 Corinthians 3:12-13, NIV)
Several years ago, I experienced one of the most poignant moments I’ve ever known on the golf course. Its exchange has stuck with me ever since.
At a private club in an upper class city, I was playing the ninth hole with one of the members. As we walked the fairway, we were facing the newly rebuilt clubhouse which, despite its gorgeous features and amenities, had run millions of dollars over budget. “Look at that,” he said. “That is how revolutions start.”
His meaning might have been twofold. He could have been referring to the micro-revolution among the membership over such an edifice and the costs—and member assessments—it required. But he seemed more specifically to mean that when the wealthy display opulence so brazenly, the masses will not hold back in their disdain and perhaps even violence. Certainly, history’s annals would bear that interpretation.
Here is the fuller truth of the matter, however: Even humble clubs in meeker settings can find themselves embattled over the stuff of earth. Do we need to remodel the kitchen that no one sees but everyone eats from? Should we mount three large-screen TVs in the grill, or four? Will that terrace by the pool really pay for itself in wedding fees? Resurfacing the greens might save water, but how will we carry the initial expense? The list, and the contentions, can go on and on.
The apostle Paul offered a gripping picture of the difference between pursuing what matters and getting caught up in lesser issues. His metaphor was the building of our lives. The foundation for believers is already set: Jesus Christ. Any other foundation is eternally pointless. But upon this foundation, there is still building to be done, and it may be done with gold, silver, and costly stones, or with wood, hay, and stubble. Those who get caught up in lesser things (the arguments that occupy the people of earth) are building with flimsy materials, and while they will be saved, it will be “only as one escaping through the flames” (1 Corinthians 3:15).
The spiritually mature, those with eternity in mind each day of their lives, build purposefully. They find the best materials and construct with excellence. And what they carry into eternity is revealed to say, “Quality!” Lord, let that be us.
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Jeff Hopper
February 26, 2016
Copyright 2016 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.