Pigs Houses and Sure Foundations
To introduce this sermon, I want to read 2 distinct pieces of literature. One is a well- known Nursery Rhyme; the other is a well-known passage of Scripture. At first, you may not see any connection between these 2 readings. However I will draw them together after reading them both by extending the Nursery Rhyme so you can see the clear significance of both readings.
Nursery Rhyme: The 3 Little Pigs
Once upon a time there were three little pigs and the time came for them to leave home and seek their fortunes. Before they left, their mother told them "Whatever you do, do the best that you can because that's the way to get along in the world."
· The first little pig built his house out of straw because it was the easiest thing to do.
· The second little pig built his house out of sticks. This was a little bit stronger than a straw house.
· The third little pig built his house out of bricks.
One night the big bad wolf, who dearly loved to eat fat little piggies, came along and saw the first little pig in his house of straw. He said "Let me in, let me in, little pig or I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house down!" "Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin", said the little pig. So the wolf huffed and he puffed and he blew the house down, and ate the first little pig.
The wolf then came to the house of sticks. "Let me in, let me in, little pig or I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house down" "Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin", said the second little pig. But the wolf huffed and he puffed, and he huffed and he puffed and he blew that house down too, and ate the second little pig.
The wolf then came to the house of bricks. "Let me in, let me in" cried the wolf. "Or I'll huff and I'll puff till I blow your house down" "Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin" said the third little pig. Well, the wolf huffed and puffed, and he huffed and he puffed, and he huffed and he puffed but he could not blow that brick house down.
But the wolf was a sly old wolf and he climbed up on the roof to look for a way into the brick house. The little pig saw the wolf climb up on the roof and lit a roaring fire in the fireplace and placed on it a large kettle of water. When the wolf finally found the hole in the chimney he crawled down and "KERSPLASH" right into that kettle of hot water. He ran off howling into the nearby forest and that was the end of the little pig's troubles with the big bad wolf.
This is the Scripture:
Matthew 7:24-27
24"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."
Luke 6:47-49
47I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. 48He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. 49But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete."
So what has the Nursery Rhyme reading and these Scriptures got to do with each other? Let me draw them together.
Back to the Nursery Rhyme of the 3 Little Pigs (extended edition).
After the wolf had licked his wounds and realised he could not blow down the brick house of the 3rd pig, he left for a distant land in search of easier prey and was never seen again. The 3rd little pig lived happily in the brick house for many years, thinking he was safe from all dangers, and free from fear of any wolves.
However, a huge storm came and the rain fell for 2 weeks. As the pig huddled nice and warm in his brick house, he forgot that he had built his house on a dry sandy river bed. The waters of the river rose and the pig's brick house was battered by the winds and lashed by the rising floodwaters. Eventually, because the 3rd little pig's brick house had no foundation and was built on sand, it was washed away by the raging flood, drowning the last little pig.
Let me ask this pivotal question this morning: On what foundation is your life built? Are you perhaps guilty of doing what the 3rd little pig did? Are you building your life and hopes on something you thought was stable and strong, only to find out that your plans were washed away by life's storms and uncertainties? How have you built your life?
· Have you built your life on a foundation of earthly wealth?
· Have you perhaps built it on a foundation of a career?
· Or maybe you've built your life on the foundation of your education or achievements?
You see, none of these foundations can stand the test of time or the storms of this life. One such "storm of this life" is the global recession the world is currently experiencing. Capitalism - it was once a word held in high regard - it is linked to free enterprise and good business! Many people built their hopes, security and foundations on their money in the bank. Other people built their "security for the future" on their pensions. Other people and companies built their foundations on the Stock Exchanges of the world. We now know that most of the world's banks and financial institutions are in deep financial difficulties. They are experiencing losses unheard of for many decades.
The Directors of these banks had built their wealth foundations on "questionable investments spurred on by greed." They promoted their banks as "caring banks" or "banks looking after your interests", but this was misleading advertising.
It is now obvious that these corporations' are fuelled by greed, supported by unscrupulous practices enabled by a bad system, not regulated sufficiently, and their only focus is more and more profits. They were even willing to exploit the poor, as we saw in the report. They knew what they were doing was "not sound", but they didn't really care. As long as they make their profits, they just don't care about the ordinary man in the street. $100 million was not enough! They wanted $500 million. When they got $500 million, they wanted a Billion Dollars. When they got 1 Billion, they wanted 10 Billion more! The banking institutions of the world thought that the wealth mountain they were building would never end.
But just like the 3rd little pig, this wealth mountain had no foundation!
Millions of people around the world have lost a significant part of their savings and investments. Global companies are floundering because they too built their stability of massive loans from these banks. Thousands upon thousands of people are losing their jobs, their homes and their livelihoods. Many have even lost their pensions late on into their lives, with no clear prospects for recovering any or all of their pension payments. And no job prospects either! Governments have to step in now with huge amounts of tax payers money to try to bail out these banks, who are near bankruptcy due to their greed.
Just like the 3rd little pig, banks and even government institutions put their trust in so- called "secure" investments, but it had no foundation either!
The reason why people thought banks were safe places to put their money is because banks were supposed to be the safest place on earth to store your savings. Banks boasted they had all the modern technology and safety features to protect your hard-earned savings. They boasted they had such advanced security in place even the cleverest criminal could not break in and steal your savings. Banks boasted they had things like:
· Chip and pin ... they checked your pin code every time you used your card. You thought your savings were safe because of chip and pin, but in the meantime your savings were leaving through the back door of the bank, based on dodgy investments and loans
· Banks put in "time-delayed bank vaults", using the most technologically advanced vault security features, but your money wasn't even kept in the vault, it was being loaned to risky investors
· Laser based security systems, including trip sensitive and temperature sensitive security alarm systems, but your savings wasn't secured, it was being loaned to borrowers whom the banks knew couldn't repay the loans
· Reinforced floors, especially in the vault itself, with built in vibration sensors if someone tried to drill through the floor, but the banks allowed your savings to walk across the floor into the hands of risky investors
· Automated systems for locking down the bank and the vault in case of a major terrorist attack, but they did not foresee a major "economic" attack of global proportions
While the banks were focusing on stopping criminals from entering the bank through their various security systems, they forgot that the bank did not have any foundation! It was like building a grand palace on swamp-land or on mud! Look at what the Psalmist says about this.
Psalm 127:1-2
1Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labour in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard 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.
What does God's Word say about pursuing wealth at all costs?
Proverbs 23:4-6
4 Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint. 5 Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.
The illustration I used with the 3 Little Pigs Nursery Rhyme warns us not to think we have built safe foundations based on wealth, careers or any other worldly method. So many people across the world were lulled into a false sense of security. They believed the bankers. They believed the "pundits" who said the economy was going to grow continuously for many, many years. They believed the stockbrokers. Even the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown was caught out by this economic crisis. Not so long ago, he made a bold statement that "he and New Labour had built an economic foundation that effectively puts an end to boom and bust in the UK."
*A very recent announcement by the respected International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Institute for Fiscal Studies state that the UK will be hit harder by the economic recession than any of the world's other developed countries.
*IMF: UK economy will be hardest hit in worst recession since 2nd world war
*British GDP now forecast to shrink 2.8% this year, while United Nations agency warns that more than 50 million jobs could disappear around the world. (*2008)
So much for the vision of Gordon Brown! You can't even trust our politicians. They seem to live in "cloud cuckoo-land"! Look how sure our now Prime Minister was of the security of the British economy! Just like us, they are just mere human beings. They don't possess super-human powers to be able to see the future. It's like the blind leading the blind! And we as God's people should stop trusting in and following the blind! We should look to our God for our direction. We should look to our Saviour Jesus Christ for the path we should walk. Avoid greed ... look what happened to the economies of the world because of it.
Trust in God, not in man. Don't become a victim on your own "self-confidence" by adopting the idea the 3rd little pig adopted. Don't think you are in control, safe and secure in your little brick house like the little pig, built on a sandy riverbed. Your true security, both now and for eternity, is to be found in the God of Heaven and Earth. And in His Kingdom. Only He knows the future. So surely the common sense thing would be to put your faith and trust in Him, not in the world or its institutions. This is a valuable lesson to us all.
It is not an issue of Capitalism versus Communism. It isn't even an issue of free markets versus controlled markets. Rather it's an issue about where you place your trust, not only for your financial security, but also for your spiritual security and for your very salvation!
If you are child of God, you can trust in a God and Father who knows the future and has provided us with a sure hope and a guarantee of salvation. So no matter what the storms of life bring to undermine or threaten our hope, we can be confident in our hope of eternal life and of God's protection right now. So while the world is running around like "head-less" chickens worrying themselves to death about the economic climate, we can enjoy the "peace of God that transcends all understanding".
Philippians 4:6-7
6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
However, if you are not a child of God, then you are at the mercy of the winds and storms of this world. Like the 3rd little pig, you might think you're safe and secure, but you are not! You are open to any idiot's advice that professes to know the future with absolute conviction. Some even think that God is allowing the financial foundations of the world to be shaken. They think He is teaching greedy corporations and nations a lesson, by removing the things they lean on for their support.
Using the 3 Little Pig's analogy, it is like God telling the world "I'm going to huff and I'm going to puff and I'm going to blow your house down".
He is allowing this situation to develop to show the world that their little "idols" of wealth, investments, stock markets, banks and other world institutions cannot provide you with true security. A preacher called Charles West was once quoted as saying: "We turn to God for help when our foundations are shaking ... only to learn that it is God who is shaking them."
God is showing the world the folly of pursuing earthly wealth to the detriment of losing your soul. Our Lord taught this truth:
Matthew 16:24-26
24Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. 26What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? 27For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.
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