The wise shall inherit glory, but shame shall be the legacy of fools. Proverbs 3:35
There once were two builders who designed their own homes and were keen to build. The land for construction was sandy, so it was frustrating to get the foundations right. The impatient builder ignored the warnings and experiences of others and started building his house on the sand. His house came up way before schedule. The world marveled at the magnificent house and applauded the builder. His housewarming celebrations were long over while the other builder kept digging deep to build his house on the rock. He thought carefully and planned wisely. After an arduous wait, his house was complete. Later, tragedy strikes as storms and floods hit, and guess what! The foolish man’s house fell like a house of cards, while the wise man’s house stood unshaken.
Who is your Foundation?
The wise build their life on the Rock of Ages – Jesus Christ. When He is the Lord of our lives, we may have challenges every day, but He gives us wisdom to ace right ahead. Today’s verse states that the wise will inherit glory. As children of God, we do not conform to the world(Romans 12:2), and hence, a glorious inheritance is our birthright. On the contrary, fools will inherit shame. It’s easier to be foolish than wise in our daily choices because the world deems it wise to live as per our heart’s desires. However, foolish choices get compounded into a legacy of shame lasting through generations.
We read about the prodigal son(Luke 15: 11-32) who wanted a reckless and indulgent life. He inconsiderately asked for his portion of the inheritance, hurting his father. Finally, when exhausted, he came to his senses and turned out wiser. The other son assumed legalism could get him ahead rather than a close relationship with his father. Moral of story, a deep relationship with God is the core criterion to be wise. A wise life ingrained in the Word will portray God’s glory.
Life of wisdom is a straight and narrow path, while broad is the way to foolishness. God has entitled us to free will, so the choice is ours to be wise or foolish. Let us choose wisely, and may our legacy be a life of wisdom!
