Foundations

Habakkuk 2:6-20 pronounces woe on evildoers. Verse 12 says, "Woe to him who builds a town with blood and founds a city on iniquity!"

Everyone knows that foundations matter.

We would not build a city on slanted, sinking, or crumbling ground because eventually it would create a slanted, sinking, crumbling city. Even if the ground looked solid, we would test it to ensure that it was firm before building anything there because once something has been built, people's lives and livelihoods are at risk of destruction if the foundation falls. 

Yet when it comes to wrongdoing, we disregard the foundation entirely. We think if we build the city up enough, if we make it great, it will cover the foundations completely. But even hidden foundations move the city. If quicksand is covered up by a house, the house will still sink. It'll just be harder to know why. Because our foundations are central to who we are and who we become. 

In Rome's founding Romulus killed his brother and grafted Remus's city into his own. But instead of being covered up, that foundation became Rome's legacy. Conquering nations to become a part of their empire.

We cannot bury our sin or build over it because it will always weaken and taint everything that covers it. Its lack of visibility doesn't change its impact. The only way is to address the foundation. To acknowledge the weakness. To find something firm on which to build. To stop letting shame or arrogance keep us where we are but to build on something better.

It's not about where we are (or were) but about Whose we are. We don't have to settle for a weak foundation. And we don't have to be afraid of our weak foundation crumbling; it's when we lose the house on the sand that we can build something lasting upon the rock.