“For no other foundation can any one lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 3:11, RSV)
After the Stock Market collapse of 1929, the financial sectors of the United States were shaken. Many lost their jobs. People who had invested heavily in the stock market lost huge amounts of money. Some people who were rich a month earlier were now as poor as a beggar on Main Street. Families lost their homes and savings. Banks were closed. Whole communities became hungry overnight. Necessities in life became scarce.
During those hard times in 1929 and in the years following known as “The Great Depression”, people were forced to go back to basics. They had to scrounge for jobs, money, food, and resources. In some families, clothes were knitted with free seed mill sacks or flour sacks as fabric became too expensive. Food pantries and free meals at churches and charities sustained many families. Some people couldn’t live with the poverty or loss of riches. It was not unusual to hear of a formerly rich man throwing himself off a tower in New York or a woman dressed up in furs to overdose on drugs. Times were tough.
A friend of mine endured these years with difficulty. At the time, she often wore clothes made of food sacks. Her family had no savings account, no checking account. They often went to church and the local food pantry when donated food was available. The children acquired handmade items for toys. Christmas presents were scarce. Birthdays had no cake or ice cream or parties. Some children in her neighborhood didn’t even have their own beds. People relied on each other for basic necessities. This friend of mine talked about those hard times with a smile, though. I was curious. I asked her once, “Why do you smile when you look back at such hard times?” Her response always resonated with me, “We were all equal in that we were all poor. Nobody made fun of another for wearing clothes made of sacks. Christmas was spent singing and spending time with family and at church. Things were simpler. People looked out for each other. My neighbors were friends. Not like it is today! In the end, you relied on God and God came through.”
When the worst of times came in the 1920’s, people were forced to choose what they valued most in life. Many who couldn’t live without wealth committed suicide. Unmarried men without homes became hoboes, scrounging food near the railroad lines. With the scarcity of food, lines for the food pantries grew to a block long. Soup kitchens ran out of food. Teachers in elementary schools spent hours scrounging up food for their students. Even a heated house became a luxury! With all these challenges, people had to adapt to survive. Many gave up presents, rich foods, and non-essentials. Families went back to the basics, sewing their own clothes and sharing what little they had. It didn’t take long to find out what people valued most. Silver candlesticks were bartered for food or rent. Expensive dinnerware was traded for medicine or spices or meat or chickens or a cow. People prayed in public. Families prayed at the dinner table. Churches were bursting at the seams. People came back to God.
Hard times will expose what people can and can’t live without. Trials and tribulations force people to make choices about what is most important. If you had to face terrible times, what would you hold dear? What would you give up? What would you do to survive? Who would be able to rely upon you?
Our meditational scripture from 1 Corinthians 3 talks about what is foundational to the Christian. It claims that “no other foundation can any one lay than that… which is Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:11). When Paul wrote these words, he was trying to convince the Christians in Corinth that earthly treasures had replaced Christ’s foundational place among believers and non-believers alike. In 1 Corinthians 3:12, Paul mentioned that some had placed other commodities above God. They relied on gold, silver, precious stones, and many other things instead of Jesus Christ. Even today, people must choose what is at the foundation of their being. When it comes down to basics, do they rely on wealth, power, connections, a good job, government handouts, money, possessions? Do they treasure things of this world the most? Or is Christ the sure foundation for their choices? Is Jesus their source for direction or do they rely on worldly ideologies? Is God the first thing they think about when waking, or do they wake up with a smile for something or someone else?
Time will expose in every one of us what is most important, what is foundational to our being. When life tests you, what you value most will become apparent. Paul explained this in 1 Corinthians 3 following today’s scripture: “…each man’s work will become manifest; for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.” (1 Corinthians 3:13). Your values always show forth. What you rely on will be revealed at crucial moments.
If people had to guess what is most important to you right now, today…. would they say God is foundational to you? Do they see Jesus as your sure foundation or something else?
I end today with a commentary on 1 Corinthians 3:11 found in Trusting God with Today:
“Upon what foundation is your life built? Is your confidence in your own wit and wisdom or strength and possessions? Or have you allowed God to be the basis on which you’re established? You’ll only be able to stand the strains of life in proportion to the strength of the substance on which you rely. Therefore, it is essential for you to build your life on the Lord. Remember, He is the unshakable Sovereign of the universe, the God of love who is personally and sacrificially interested in you. He is just and wise and knows you inside and out. He is with you every moment, and His unlimited power is always available to you. The problem is that if you don’t really know Jesus, you will not believe Him. The real quality of your faith is evident when the bottom drops out and you don’t have anyone to turn to but God. That’s the crucible—the fire where your confidence in Him is tried to the breaking point, and you cannot wait today.” (Charles F. Stanley, p. 272)
During those hard times in 1929 and in the years following known as “The Great Depression”, people were forced to go back to basics. They had to scrounge for jobs, money, food, and resources. In some families, clothes were knitted with free seed mill sacks or flour sacks as fabric became too expensive. Food pantries and free meals at churches and charities sustained many families. Some people couldn’t live with the poverty or loss of riches. It was not unusual to hear of a formerly rich man throwing himself off a tower in New York or a woman dressed up in furs to overdose on drugs. Times were tough.
A friend of mine endured these years with difficulty. At the time, she often wore clothes made of food sacks. Her family had no savings account, no checking account. They often went to church and the local food pantry when donated food was available. The children acquired handmade items for toys. Christmas presents were scarce. Birthdays had no cake or ice cream or parties. Some children in her neighborhood didn’t even have their own beds. People relied on each other for basic necessities. This friend of mine talked about those hard times with a smile, though. I was curious. I asked her once, “Why do you smile when you look back at such hard times?” Her response always resonated with me, “We were all equal in that we were all poor. Nobody made fun of another for wearing clothes made of sacks. Christmas was spent singing and spending time with family and at church. Things were simpler. People looked out for each other. My neighbors were friends. Not like it is today! In the end, you relied on God and God came through.”
When the worst of times came in the 1920’s, people were forced to choose what they valued most in life. Many who couldn’t live without wealth committed suicide. Unmarried men without homes became hoboes, scrounging food near the railroad lines. With the scarcity of food, lines for the food pantries grew to a block long. Soup kitchens ran out of food. Teachers in elementary schools spent hours scrounging up food for their students. Even a heated house became a luxury! With all these challenges, people had to adapt to survive. Many gave up presents, rich foods, and non-essentials. Families went back to the basics, sewing their own clothes and sharing what little they had. It didn’t take long to find out what people valued most. Silver candlesticks were bartered for food or rent. Expensive dinnerware was traded for medicine or spices or meat or chickens or a cow. People prayed in public. Families prayed at the dinner table. Churches were bursting at the seams. People came back to God.
Hard times will expose what people can and can’t live without. Trials and tribulations force people to make choices about what is most important. If you had to face terrible times, what would you hold dear? What would you give up? What would you do to survive? Who would be able to rely upon you?
Our meditational scripture from 1 Corinthians 3 talks about what is foundational to the Christian. It claims that “no other foundation can any one lay than that… which is Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:11). When Paul wrote these words, he was trying to convince the Christians in Corinth that earthly treasures had replaced Christ’s foundational place among believers and non-believers alike. In 1 Corinthians 3:12, Paul mentioned that some had placed other commodities above God. They relied on gold, silver, precious stones, and many other things instead of Jesus Christ. Even today, people must choose what is at the foundation of their being. When it comes down to basics, do they rely on wealth, power, connections, a good job, government handouts, money, possessions? Do they treasure things of this world the most? Or is Christ the sure foundation for their choices? Is Jesus their source for direction or do they rely on worldly ideologies? Is God the first thing they think about when waking, or do they wake up with a smile for something or someone else?
Time will expose in every one of us what is most important, what is foundational to our being. When life tests you, what you value most will become apparent. Paul explained this in 1 Corinthians 3 following today’s scripture: “…each man’s work will become manifest; for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.” (1 Corinthians 3:13). Your values always show forth. What you rely on will be revealed at crucial moments.
If people had to guess what is most important to you right now, today…. would they say God is foundational to you? Do they see Jesus as your sure foundation or something else?
I end today with a commentary on 1 Corinthians 3:11 found in Trusting God with Today:
“Upon what foundation is your life built? Is your confidence in your own wit and wisdom or strength and possessions? Or have you allowed God to be the basis on which you’re established? You’ll only be able to stand the strains of life in proportion to the strength of the substance on which you rely. Therefore, it is essential for you to build your life on the Lord. Remember, He is the unshakable Sovereign of the universe, the God of love who is personally and sacrificially interested in you. He is just and wise and knows you inside and out. He is with you every moment, and His unlimited power is always available to you. The problem is that if you don’t really know Jesus, you will not believe Him. The real quality of your faith is evident when the bottom drops out and you don’t have anyone to turn to but God. That’s the crucible—the fire where your confidence in Him is tried to the breaking point, and you cannot wait today.” (Charles F. Stanley, p. 272)