Westwood Presbyterian Church

WOW - August 6th, 2008

197 Browning  Boulevard, Winnipeg, Manitoba  R3K 0L1

REV. PETER BUSH's SERMONS

Proverbs - Home and House

 

House and Home are common images used in Scripture. Jesus talked about wise house-builders and foolish ones. Jesus also talked of heaven as a place of many mansions. But we know that Jesus was not primarily giving advice on house-building techniques­and he was not inviting us to see heaven as a sub-division made up of monster homes. Jesus was using House and Home to point to something deeper than the physical reality of a building we might call home, deeper than a house.

In Proverbs we see the same thing - that the proverb writers give us insight into deeper truths about the world - deeper truths about the wise life - deeper truths about the path of following God through talking about House and Home.

In Proverbs 24, we find these words 24:3-4 - It takes wisdom to build a house, and understanding to set it on a firm foundation; It takes knowledge to furnish its rooms with fine furniture and beautiful draperies.

Ask anyone who has tried to build something a "simple" as a deck or a shed about whether it takes knowledge and understanding to build something and they will agree, yes it takes knowledge and understanding and wisdom to build something like a house. If it takes that kind of knowledge and wisdom and understanding to build a house - how much more does it take that to build a life. For that is really what the writer is getting at. It takes wisdom and knowledge and understanding to build a life - to build something that will stand the storms that come, to build something that we are proud to say "this is my life."

There are two interesting things about wisdom and understanding and knowledge ­first, there is no end to them. There is always more knowledge, always more wisdom, always more understanding. The more we learn about something the more we learn that there is to learn. We can never say that we know everything about something, we can never say that we have acquired all the wisdom that we need, we can never say that we understand all we need to understand.

And that leads to the second truth - the more wisdom, the more understanding, the more knowledge - the more humility we get. I am so often amazed at the humility of people who know a great deal about a subject. They are willing to learn more, willing to share the "little bit that they know". It is the people who think they know a great deal who talk with pride about their knowledge, their understanding - but whose words often display their lack of wisdom.

It takes knowledge, understanding, wisdom to build a life - and those are life long processes. Building a life is a life long process rooted in humility and a desire to know more, understand more, gain more wisdom. Because in gaining knowledge, understanding and wisdom we grow fuller, richer, deeper lives. And then we are prepared to more wisely, with greater knowledge and understanding acquire and place the furnishings of our lives.

If Proverbs is interested in house building - life building - it is even more interested in prevent house destruction - life destruction. Three ways are outlined in which we can destroy our home.

Use shoddy material. If we build lives with worthless materials - with worthless activities - with things that cause destruction rather than building up - then the results will be evident in the kinds of lives we build. John Ortberg in his book - "At the end of the game it all goes back in the box" tells the stories of two men who died within weeks of each other. One was a powerful business tycoon who did everything in his power to make money, to gain influence, to climb the ladder. In the process he used people to get ahead. When he died there were 8 people at his funeral- the minister, the man's chauffeur, and 6 pall bearers who were paid to be there. The other man was very poor, was even seen raiding the garbage bins of restaurants. But he was generous in his care for others, he always had an encouraging word for people, he shared the love of Jesus with everyone he met. When this man died 1,000 people showed up at his funeral.

Proverbs 14:11 - Lives of careless wrongdoing are tumbledown shacks; holy living builds soaring cathedrals.

The second way we can destroy our home is by always looking for something better.

You know the feeling - if only we had new kitchen cupboards, and if the garage were only 2 feet wider, and if there was a walk in closet, and ... and ... and ... All of this comparison makes us feel unhappy with our house - and we stop caring for it, we see it as being shabby, second rate. We do the same with our lives.

We say, "if only I was smarter, or prettier, or could talk better and so on" - then I would be able to do great things for God. And so we hanker after other things than what we have - we chase abilities and gifts that are not ours - we chase things that we don't have - rather than asking ourselves how am I to use what I have to build this house - to build this life?

And instead of building the house - the nest -- the life we have with what we have ­we try to build a life with what we wish we had. We flit around trying to gain what is not ours - rather than trusting that God has given us what we need to build a full, deep, rich life.

Proverbs 27:8 - People who won't settle down, wandering hither and yon, are like restless birds, flitting to and fro.

The third way we destroy our houses - our lives is by under-valuing the treasure we have received. In a few minutes we will be celebrating communion - a treasure that speaks of a deep treasure that stands at the center of the life of every follower of Jesus Christ. We are the forgiven people of God - not perfect - not with our lives together ­ not better than anyone else - just forgiven. Weare the recipients of the most value gift that has ever been given - a gift that we did not pay for - since it is a gift - but something which is so valuable that it can not be bought - the amazing grace of God.

 

This costly free grace can so easily be sold short - so easily thought to be of no value - we throw around grace as though it was cheap - and when we do that we lessen it - and ourselves. For we are sinners saved by grace - we have value only because of the grace of God.

A fine balancing act is needed - the grace of God is a free gift - we can not buy it ­we can not earn it - but that does not mean that it is cheap. That does not mean that it has no value. The gift is freely given. It takes a life time to say thank you for this gift - it takes all that we have to say thank you for the gift we have been given. Our thank you does not make us worthy of the gift - in fact nothing can make us worthy of the gift. Our humble, meagre thanks is what we have to offer in return for the amazing gift given.

Proverbs 21 :20

Valuables are safe in a wise person's home; fools put it all out for yard sales.

We come to the table this evening recognizing that at this table is all the wisdom, knowledge and understanding that we need to build lives that matter. We don't need more than the grace we have received, there is nothing more that we need to hanker after, or go seeking. For at this table is everything that we need. At this table is the richest gift we can ever receive. We come with reverent joy, we come with wonder at the grace of God, we come amazed at how deep is his love - how valuable the gift.