There are a lot of things in this world that we seem to understand. We find out, however, that over time we don’t know as much as we think. Actually, we find in a lot of areas we don’t know as much as we think. But, anyway as far as in the area of what we think we know, it can be rather sketchy.
The title for this post is, honestly, kind of tongue-in-cheek. Obviously, some things are actually what they appear to be. Certainly there are many things in life that are what they appear. There are some things that aren’t, however. But, I’m not going to get into any conspiracy theories here. I’ll talk about things we all can agree on.
When I was thinking about this topic, for some reason, what came to my mind was the Bernie Madoff scandal. Most of you know about this, but for those of you who don’t, I’ll explain the backstory. Bernie Madoff was an investment fund manager who was arrested in 2008 for running a Ponzi scheme. Some of you may wonder what a Ponzi scheme actually is. Good question. A Ponzi scheme is actually named after a guy named Charles Ponzi who, in the 1920’s duped a large number of investors into trusting him to invest their money with the promise of outsized, or larger than usual returns. I’m sure he’s not the originator of such an idea, but just the biggest example we have in modern times. So, basically Bernie Madoff was running the same kind of program.
The program is built on the idea of continually acquiring new investors so that the pool of money grows. In doing this, he promises unusually high returns which he actually pays out to people. And this pool of investors is built on the testimonials of people who actually receive these great returns. The problem is, though, that the money is not actually all there. Some people will actually cash out their money but most won’t. They’ll keep their money thinking that it’s gaining these huge returns. And this pool of money grows from acquiring new investors and not from the great return on investment. So, in essence, all this money that’s stated is not actually there. So, the problem comes when too many people ask for their money at the same time. When that happens they don’t have enough money to pay people back, nor their return on investment. That’s what happened to Bernie Madoff.
This whole program was basically a house of cards. It all came crashing down at this point. The amazing thing is that he got away with this for so long. It’s believed it may have started as early as the 1970’s, but Bernie Madoff himself says it started in the 1990’s. In either case, he was getting away with this for a long time without anyone noticing. And everyone, for the most part, believed that it was real. When the veil was lifted, though, everyone was able to see it for what it was.
This causes one to wonder how many things we see every day are actually real. Are they really what everyone believes them to be? You see, just because everyone believes it’s true doesn’t make it true. The truth is still the truth regardless of what anyone believes. So, I guess we better make sure the things we believe are in line with the truth.
Many times we believe things to be true only to find out later that they only appeared that way. I believe I’ve mentioned this verse before, but it bears repeating. Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof [are] the ways of death.” Now obviously this can be applied to a lot of things. This applies not to just our lives in general, but our spiritual lives as well. You can see it happening in our culture today. There are many things that our society has now decided are ‘OK’ that were considered forbidden before. It seems like, in some ways, good has become bad and bad has become good. The Bible actually talks about this. John 16:2 says, “They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.” Jesus, in talking to his disciples, shows some people will believe they are doing right when they are actually doing what’s wrong. They will believe they are on God’s side and not realize that they aren’t. You might say, “Well, I’ve never killed anybody thinking I was right.” OK, but if these people can be deceived about such an egregious act, what might we be deceived about in the everyday things in our lives? We can be deceived about seemingly minor things and not even realize it. In the end result, though, it can be a major mistake.
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I guess that’s why we need to make sure we know what the truth is. In Matthew Jesus talks about the wise man who built his house on the rock verses the foolish man who built his house on the sand. Matthew 7:24-27 says, “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.”
OK, so here’s the simple application. Building our lives on what appears to be true, but isn’t, is like the man who built his house on the sand. Kind of like the Ponzi scheme. But building our lives on what is actually true, is like building our house on the rock. This is the person whose life is based on what the Word of God says. This is what Jesus was saying. Your house is actually ‘you’. You see, the sand seemed OK to the foolish man until the wind blew and the floods came. Then it was revealed for what it was. That foundation wasn’t enough. God and His Word, though, are the only sure foundation. There is nothing else! I mean, what are we going to do when our world is crashing down around us? What are we going to hold onto? All this world can be taken away. But, when it’s all said and done, will your house still stand? Will your house be found to be built on the rock? Or, will it be found to be built on the sand? Will it be a house of cards? So, what are you depending on? Some of us are depending on the government, or our investments, or other people. But, at the end of the day, these things aren’t dependable. Only when we are following God and what His Word says can we be certain of our future.
We often get tricked into thinking our lives are pretty secure. We need to ask ourselves, though, if what we believe is actually true. Things aren’t necessarily true because I believe them to be, or want to believe them to be. We all agree on what is true in the natural world. So, if there is a natural truth, there must be spiritual truth. If there is a spiritual truth, then we have to get our lives in line with that truth as well. This way we can know that our lives are built upon the Rock.
Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof [are] the ways of death.”
John 16:2 says, “They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.”
Matthew 7:24-27 says, “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.”