# Foundational - 1 CORINTHIANS 3:9-17 - 2024-08-25 This text was the intro to our podcast "Faith, Frauds, and Falsehoods." It was a fun podcast to do where we talked about cults and cult-like groups. Our purpose in using these verses was to point out that most of the cults were trying to build upon the foundation, some just barely, while also spreading well over the distance that should have been to the side. The result, in the vast majority of cases we talked about, was that the building collapsed. It was built without the sturdy foundation of Jesus being properly utilized and as such, fell onto the people. *Brethren, we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building. According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and another man is building upon it. Let each man take care how he builds upon it. For no other foundation can any one lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any one builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw - 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. If the work which any man has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? If any one destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and that temple you are. - 1 CORINTHIANS 3:9-17* St. Paul's teaching here is less about construction and more about the things that we build up in our lives. Are we sticking things together that are unstable, temporary, and worthless? Or are we taking the time to forge with precious gold and jewels something that will last through eternity? These verses have always brought me to the question of "what am I building that is wood versus what am I building that's gold?" Not necessarily in the self-introspection sense, though that's definitely part of it, but more in that technical sense of is what I'm doing currently wood or gold? Are the efforts I am making going to be burnt up or will they survive the fires? I don't know the answer to that question, I just know that I am trying. Particularly with this blog where I post daily thoughts on one of the scripture readings for the day, is it gold or is it stubble? I hope to find that pieces of it are gold, but I am also certain that some of it will burn away. I want to say that I'm ok with that, but Paul's words make it pretty clear that we shouldn't be ok with that outcome. Perhaps, today's the day that I recognize that I need to do more? I had intended to increase the level of research that goes into these posts as well as others, as time goes on, but if the work I'm putting in now is just straw, maybe I should do what is necessary to make it into gold. Perhaps you too should take a moment to review your own works in life and ask yourself this same question. Can you do better? Can you make it out of gold and make it something that will survive? If so, why aren't we?