For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
1 Corinthians 3:11-13
Every day we have an opportunity to build on the foundation we have been given as believers in Jesus Christ. This work of building is not meant for our own benefit (although we do reap rewards for our labor) but for the benefit of the body of Christ. Every one of us needs other Christians to help us grow and stay on the right path. This is why 1 Thessalonians 5:11 instructs, “Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.”
Yet there is another path some choose to take. Some people have no interest in helping others, focusing only on themselves. Often these people attempt to make themselves feel better by tearing down others. If this approach goes on long enough, the consequences can go from destructive to deadly. Paul warned the Galatians, “For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another” (Galatians 5:14-15).
It is easier to tear others down than to build them up, but that is never the course to take. Someone wrote a poem about a conversation with a construction supervisor tearing down a large building called “A Builder or a Wrecker?” that ends with these lines.
Am I a builder who works with care,
Measuring life by rule and square?
Am I shaping my work to a well-made plan
Patiently doing the best I can?
Or am I a wrecker who walks to town
Content with the labor of tearing down?
“O Lord let my life and my labors be
That which will build for eternity!”
