I think it’s safe to say that everyone wants to be successful. Every day people get up to go to work or school — all chasing success.
Many achieve the success they are looking for, yet still many others do not.
The idea of comparing our lives to the building of a house is not new. We see it multiple times in the Bible, one such example is 2 Timothy 2:20-21.
2 Timothy 2:20–21 KJV: 20 But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. 21 If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.
Each of us are called to organize our house in a way that makes us meet, or ‘qualified’, for the Master’s use. We are preparing ourselves so God can come in, use us, and make us successful.
The problem is, as time goes on and God begins to add to our house, we can forget that God is the master builder, and we are just His little helper. We get to thinking that we are the reason our house is growing and our name has become increasingly respected. When this happens, fleshly pride gets a chance to slip in and take over. The phrase you utter in awe, “God thank you for building my house”, becomes, “Look at what I built.”
Nebuchadnezzar made this mistake.
Daniel 4:29–34 KJV 29 At the end of twelve months, he walked into the palace of the kingdom of Babylon. 30 The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?
The king took the credit. He began to look around and see the greatness, and it went straight to his head. God has called us to be great, but if we make it to that status, will we still remember who got us there in the first place?
31 While the word was in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee.
We must take caution to not let those thoughts that try to slip in become our words. As soon as you start to speak words of fleshly pride, your downfall is right around the corner. That kingdom you think you built, will be stripped away from you by the One who truly had a hand in its building.
32 And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. 33 The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles’ feathers, and his nails like birds’ claws.
The downfall won’t be easy either. It’s quite difficult to watch the walls of your metaphorical house be torn down until the last ounce of pride no longer lingers. Maybe you have fallen. You have already let pride take over and it feels like you have lost it all. You, who once cleared out that humble little home of yours, began to let the filth back in where it started to grow bigger and bigger. It compounded until your house was full and no longer fit for the Master’s use. Now, you may think it’s over, but thankfully there is a Great Contractor. A Master Builder who has a history of restoring houses just like yours; no matter how messed up they seem.
34 And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation:
You can lift your eyes and worship God, and humble yourself, and become qualified for the Master’s use.
The Master will build you and make you great. He has a plan and a purpose for your life, but in that process, we must remember Who built this house.
