The body count made the headlines around the world. A multi-story condominium collapsed with such force that few bodies have been recovered after a week of desperate searching. Is that unbelievable tragedy unfolding in a third-world slum? No, it’s on Miami Beach, the playground for the rich and famous! Those condos sell for $700,000 and have hefty monthly fees to maintain the property. What could have caused such a catastrophic failure?
The 40-year-old building had been sinking for years, but surely, they did something about that. With millions of dollars at stake, cost shouldn’t have been an obstacle. Cracks and corrosion had been discovered, but the building was reportedly in good condition. How could both be true? Apparently, they weren’t! The building failed! Columns in the underground garage were reported to be in an advanced state of deterioration and it often flooded. The integrity of the whole building depended on the stability of those columns.
An ominous report of corruption and payoffs may shed some light on the structural failure. A tragedy repeated throughout history, it wasn’t outside forces, but internal corruption that led to the collapse. Who was it that cut corners to save money on the construction? Who would it hurt, and what they don’t know won’t hurt them, they must have reasoned. Subsequent payoffs may have made things worse. The original culprits may have “gotten away” with their schemes, but now someone will have to pay for their misdeeds. More than 150 residents already have!
Sadly, that tragedy is repeating all around the world on an unimaginable scale for even more tragic stakes. People are building on compromised foundations and being led away from GOD in ever increasing numbers! It doesn’t matter how close people were to salvation, because the “almost” saved are lost! Like that building, it may have “almost” stood, but it didn’t!
The secular world attacks the WORD of GOD as being inaccurate, out-of-date, and wrong! Children’s books, programs and cartoons contradict the WORD, so doubt is planted in their hearts. The education system continues sewing doubt and disbelief as their foundational beliefs are being laid. Television, the internet, and popular culture reinforce the assault on hearts and minds. Is it surprising that our children are walking away from the Church in increasing numbers? They are supported by faulty foundations laid by the “thief” (John 10:10 KJV).
Sadly, the Church isn’t fixing these foundational problems, but has been mostly paid off by the corruption of the world. If we don’t reinforce the foundations of absolute truth, the authority of the Bible, the consequences of sin, salvation through JESUS CHRIST and the power of the HOLY SPIRIT, who will? Without these to stand on, people will ultimately fall! JESUS said, “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” (Mat 7:26-27 KJV). The foundation that won’t fail is “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16 KJV). Those who don’t believe will fail “and great was the fall of it.”
Wayne Lance (2021) – That’s Good News to Share!