Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.
Matthew 7: 24-27
One of my favorite songs as a child was the “wise man foolish man” song. There are hand motions, repetitive and easy to learn – just like any good children’s song, and my favorite part was singing the “whoa” and “whoosh!” parts. I think this might have been because our Pastor, who also happened to be my father, would use a much louder voice and exaggerated hand motions at that part, and it made the song very fun to sing… especially in church!
The Wise Man built his house upon a rock (repeat 3x)
and the rain came tumbling down….Whoa!
The rain came down and the floods came up (repeat 3x)
and the wise man’s house stood firm.
The foolish man built his house upon the sand (repeat 3x)
and the foolish man’s house went “whoosh”.
The song is based on the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Builders and is part of the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew 7:24-27… Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.
The parable of the wise and foolish builders is a parable told by Jesus telling people to listen to his advice. Jesus takes the man who built his house on the rock as an example. Many times we are like the foolish man, and we have a better way for our life. We place our hope and trust in things other than Jesus. In this parable, Jesus is the rock and a firm foundation. When our life is built on Christ, nothing can “whoosh” us away when the storms in life are raining down on us. Our hope and faith in Jesus keeps us anchored and secured in God’s promise of salvation through is son Jesus.
The final verse of the song captures the essence of our Christian life and a reminder of the Gospel promise that Jesus Christ blesses us in all that we do when our foundation for life is built on Him:
Build your life on the Lord Jesus Christ (repeat 3x)
and the blessings will come down. Whoa!!!
The blessings come down and the prayers go up (repeat 3x)
So build your life on HIM!
Dear God, Thank you for sending your son Jesus as the firm foundation for my life. Help me to continue to build my life on you and strengthen my faith each day.
Rebecca Duport ’88
CUI DCE Program Director