I am starting a new series on the Temptations Planters Face. As I am in the middle of a planting mission myself, I find certain temptations coming my way that cause me to get frustrated, anxious, distracted, and unsure. Obviously planting, and for that matter any ministry, can cause the above mentioned things to happen. But what I have noticed is that there are certain temptations planters face uniquely that, if not dealt with properly, can totally derail them.
The first one I will bring to us today is wrong expectations.
The Parable of the Builder Foundation Layer
Imagine a contractor wanting a new house built on a piece of land that is jagged and uneven. So the contractor hirers a foundation layer and expects these things:
- The ground needs to be leveled
- The weeds cleared
- A hole dug deep enough to pour concrete & support the house
- Posts in the ground
- Concrete laid
The contractor just wants the foundation laid. He just wants the property ready to go when it is time to build. He gives the builder two weeks to lay the foundation.
But the builder for whatever reason didn’t understand clearly why he was hired. He thought he needed to build the whole house. Inevitably he was anxious, hurried and frustrated because he only had two weeks!
He rushed through everything…
- Leveled the field fast but missed some mounds
- Didn’t get all the weeds out
- Didn’t dig a deep enough hole
The builder knew he was rushing but he couldn’t help it because he also knew the contractor wanted this house built. The builder knew he had to get the walls up, the windows in, and the roof on. Many days he would say to himself things like this:
- “I just don’t know if I can do this job!”
- “My house sucks compared to the other houses around me…How did they build that so well?”
- “My contractor is such a harsh man…his expectations are crazy”
- “I know I am cutting corners, but there is just so much to do”
- “I don’t think I like this very much, but this house has to get built.
Needless to say, the builder foundation layer was not very happy. He was stressed, rushed, felt like a failure and very fearful of what the contractor would say when he came back. Two weeks was almost up. He had the foundation laid but he knew he cut some corners. He had a few walls up, and was just not going to get the roof on in time.
- What do you wish you could say to the builder right now?
- How do you think the contractor will feel and react when he comes back?
- How would the builder have worked if he understood clearly his job?
- When you read about this builder how do you feel?
What conclusions can we make about planting ministry from this parable? Please leave some thoughts in the comments!
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