What's Your Life's Foundation?

Do you have a vision you want to live by and is it aligned with your faith? As you build your life — your career, friends, family — do you have a foundation that will support that vision?

A firm foundation started today will shape how you live for many years to come. And while you cannot control all details of your future, you can make decisions in the present that set you up for success.

Conversely, building a foundation that's shaky or not in line with your vision can bring pain and disappointment.

Here's a silly illustration: When I was studying Chinese, I was in a hurry to acquire the language. As a result, I didn't build the proper foundations in pronunciation, key vocabulary, and grammar. It was too tedious for me. But as a result of glossing over these basics, it became harder for me to build upon my skills over time. My pronunciation never improved. I couldn't advance. When speaking to natives, I couldn't take advantage of the opportunity to practice with them and improve. Why? I had a poor foundation.

"In Christ" vs "For Christ"

If you were to ask most Christians about their life's foundation, most would quickly answer "my foundation is in Christ." A perfectly reasonable answer. But what does that actually look like? That is much harder to answer.

In some ways, the phrase "foundation for Christ" helps to frame the issue more clearly. This phrase implies the question: "What is the foundation in my life that enables me to live for Christ as a follower?" It echoes the sentiment from this verse:

"Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’" (Luke 14:28-30)

Being a disciple is a life-long endeavor. It involves a cost; one that needs foresight and planning. A foundation that has not been designed "for Christ" will result in a life that cannot follow Christ. Even if intellectually you want to follow, a foundation that's not purpose-built will limit you from taking action. Your "should dos" will never turn into "dones."

This is actually very common. I see it in others. I see it in myself. Without actively building a foundation, our life in Christ becomes merely a philosophy, not a way of life.

What are the elements of a foundation?

Now that we see the importance of knowing and building a foundation, what's next? Knowing some of the building blocks can help us to take the next steps. Here are three of them:

Possessions

"With my house and the things I have, I don't think I could go into a mission field if God called me. I don't own stuff; I feel like my stuff owns me."

My friend shared with me how he was feeling. He later talked about a short period where he was in the mission field in China and had few comforts and possessions; ironically, that was when he was most happy.

One component of a life foundation is our attitude towards possessions. Like anything foundational, this best starts in early adulthood.

Over time, possessions accumulate. They add up. Owning things and purchasing stuff often whets our appetite for more and better. Even saving up for future possessions can fundamentally change our outlook in life. For example, wanting to save for a large house in a particular neighborhood can be very consuming, financially and emotionally. That decision shapes many other life-choices along the way; and not all of those choices will lead you to follow Christ.

As the above passage emphasizes, there's a cost to discipleship. While it is far bigger than just our possessions, this is often a starting-point for us.

People

My friend's mother has the following saying: "Show me your five closest friends, and I'll tell you who you are."

The people you are closest to will influence whether we are building a "foundation for Christ" or not. If your buddies truly value following Christ, you are more likely to do so; if they pay lip-service (saying the right things but acting differently), you will likely do the same.

Like possessions, people tend to accumulate. As we spend more time with people, we become more invested in their lives. Our ways become more like their ways. We become less likely to live differently and challenge their status quo. Like possessions, there is a crowd-out effect. Possessions crowd-out space; people crowd-out other people.

The decisions we make about the kind of people we choose to be around will have long-term implications on our life.

Plans

We cannot determine every detail of our future. We cannot plan what will happen to us. Much of life is out of our direct control. But the plans and aspirations we have can dramatically form the foundation of our lives.

Plans demand discipline. They shape our habits. They prioritize our schedules.

Plans give us direction and help us avoid being buffeted by the winds of competing agendas. If those plans are Kingdom-oriented, our foundation will reflect that planning. If we are planless, our foundation will reflect this absence of plans. We'll wander aimlessly, waking up 30 years from now, wondering what happened to our lives.

How does one build a foundation "for Christ"?

You have youth, energy, idealism: now is the time to build your life's foundation. JFK once wisely stated, "The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining."

Once major decisions have already been made—a spending lifestyle, a life partner, a goal or ambition—course correction can be harder. Not impossible, but harder. Momentum and trajectory are hard things to overcome. Certainly, some people who have lived long lives without first building a foundation for Christ early in the process have made those transitions. But these cases are rare and often dramatic.