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Building on Another Man's Foundation
1 Corinthians 3:10
"According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon."
Life is a series of building upon that which others have already built. What I have right now is a result of what someone has built for me. My job now is to build upon what has been given to me so that the next generation will also have a foundation upon which to build.
In the verse above, the Apostle Paul acknowledged that someone will build upon the foundation that he laid in his lifetime. Though Paul built a great ministry, it was only the foundation for the following generation to build upon. Whether or not the next generation liked the foundation, it was their responsibility to continue to build upon the same principles set forth in that foundation for the next generation.
When I think of this, several thoughts come to mind. First, life is not all about you. You have no right to think that your life is about what you get out of it. Let me remind you that everything you have, someone before you had to build the foundation for it. For example, there are many patriots in the past who built the foundation for a free America. The responsibility of each generation is to build upon the foundation using the exact same principles that made their foundation strong. Likewise, we fundamental Baptists should build upon the principles that previous generations gave to us. Don't change those principles, but keep building upon those principles by passing them on to the next generation.
Second, by living for the present and not for the next generation, we ultimately destroy the foundations that were previously laid. One of the greatest mistakes this present generation is making is that they are destroying the foundations for the next generation. Sadly, the next generation will have to repair what the present generation is destroying if they want to enjoy the privileges that we have today.
Third, we should be thankful and give respect to those who have built the foundation upon which we stand. I watch many leaders today who destroy the leaders of past generations by downplaying their accomplishments. There are pastors who have a national platform that are destroying the name and reputations of previous builders. In fact, if they could replace the names of previous patriots with their own name, they would do it in a heartbeat. We must be careful not to forget what the previous generations have done for us and give them their due respect.
Christian, let's be careful about destroying the foundations that have been built for us. Instead, build upon those foundations by using the exact same principles that previous generations used to build the foundations for us. The least you could do as you build upon another man's foundation is to continue to build by teaching the next generation the fundamental principles that built the current foundation upon which you stand. Be sure to build upon the foundation of your family, heritage and the fundamental Baptist beliefs that the next generation can build upon. Don't be guilty of destroying the sure foundations of principles that have already been tested.