Click here to read the Old Paths Journal.
Don't Cheat Your Foundation
1 Kings 7:10
"And the foundation was of costly stones, even great stones, stones of ten cubits, and stones of eight cubits."
One of the most costly parts of building a home is the foundation. When Solomon built his home, you see that he didn't cut corners in the cost of the foundation. The verse says, "And the foundation was of costly stones..." If you're going to build a home that you plan to live in the rest of your life, then it would be wise to be sure that the foundation is not the area where you try to cut corners.
However, in the building of a home (and I am not talking about the house you live in) it seems that many people try to cheat the foundation only to see their home in turmoil. The home has been under attack since the Garden of Eden. Not only did Satan attack God's Word when he tempted Eve, but he was also attacking the foundation of the home when he went to Eve and not Adam. Satan knows that if he can destroy the home, then he can destroy the church, thus destroying God's influence in the world. Whatever you do, don't be cheap in the area of making the foundation of your home sure. There are four areas you need to be sure that you keep right to make the foundation of your home strong.
First, don't cheat God. God should be the foundation of every home. When you take away the founder of the home, you take away the core of the foundation. For any home to be what it ought to be, then God should be the core that the home revolves around. In other words, everyone in the home should have a walk with God. If one member of the home doesn't walk with God, then the foundation of the home will weakened. The whole family should be sure to serve God together. When the whole family serves God together, then you have a home whose foundation is strong.
Second, don't cheat church. God started two institutions, the home and the church. Both institutions need each other to be strong. Your home will not be what it ought to be if you don't attend every church service. You should never let anything keep you out of church. It is highly important to be faithful to church for the foundation of your home to be strong.
Third, be sure to keep your marriage relationship healthy. If the marriage relationship is weak, then the home will be weak. You will never have a strong home if the marriage is struggling. Too many times parents will work more on the parent/child relationship than they do the marriage relationship, only to destroy the home. If the husband and wife have a strong relationship, then you will often find that the children will be happy as well. When children see their parents are happily married it gives them security, which keeps them from looking to other sources to get security.
Time is the last key to having a good foundation for the home. You will never have a good home without time together. Notice, I didn't say playing together, but I said time together. The family can have time together serving God. I'm not against a family having time to play together, but the family also needs other time together. Often you will find people thinking family vacation once a year is what will give them a strong home. That is not the case! Time must be spent together every day to keep the foundation of the home strong.
It is imperative to the success of your home that you keep the foundation strong. You will not have the home that you should have without all four areas mentioned above. Each area is important to keeping the foundation of your home strong. Don't cheat the foundation in any of these areas, for it will weaken your home when you do.