Published: August 15, 2008 09:58 pm         

Build your house wisely; build it well

Inside Out

A minister friend shared with me a story about carpentry and drew a parallel with our spiritual lives.

It seems an elderly building contractor was ready to retire and asked one of his carpenters to build just one last building — a house for a growing family. The builder agreed, but did the work half-heartedly. He figured since his boss was leaving, it didn’t matter if he took shortcuts that compromised the strength and stability of the structure.

The carpenter used cheap materials and took no pains with the detailed work that separates a mediocre builder from an excellent craftsman.

Knowing his paycheck would be the same whether he did his finest work or his worst, the carpenter sped through the project and happily called the contractor when the house was done.

When the contractor came to inspect the house, he gave the work only a casual glance, then turned to the carpenter and handed him the front-door key. “This is your house,” he said, “my gift to you.”

You can imagine the shock. Had he known beforehand he was building his own home, the carpenter would have taken greater care in laying its foundation. There would have been total attention to every tiny detail of the project.

He would have made his children’s bedrooms with more windows and his wife’s kitchen bigger and more efficient. Had he known this would be his home, he would have finished every edge and put up crown molding fit for a king. He would have used the best lumber and hammered every nail with the greatest care. He would have made a bigger garage and designed space for a workshop.

But he didn’t. His failure to do his best work with a desire to benefit others cost him years of headaches and regrets.

We’re building a life every day. It’s so easy to forget we have been given stewardship responsibilities for that life. We have an advantage over the lazy carpenter. We KNOW it’s our house.

The Carpenter has assigned us the challenge of building wisely and building well. His followers know it’s also a home in which He, Himself, wants to dwell. Yet, we do shoddy work, let flaws of character go untended and allow sloppy attitudes to hinder the construction.

There’s still time to lose the lazy attitude, drop the half-hearted desires and work harder to build a house we can generously offer as a gift to others.

— E-mail: bdavis@register-herald.com