“Everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand” (Matthew 7:26). 

It’s possible to build on sand, but you need to dig for very deep footings. Which means you aren’t building on sand at all. So, Jesus’ point is still valid. Wise people always build on something solid like Jesus’ words. Sandcastles are temporary flights of fantasy. The next big wave washes them away. We know that. But generation after generation, we are drawn to sandcastles because they intrigue us. 

In the wise man/foolish man parable, Jesus challenges us to be intellectually honest. He wants us to distinguish truth from things that sound like truth. This is the information challenge of our time. Things that sound like truth seem to find us. They come at us wave on wave in click bait that pops up on our devices to lure us to the shifting sands of someone’s false claims and ulterior motives. We find truth by digging for it ourselves. Divine truth is revealed in the Bible. Current truth is reported by ethical journalists. Documented truth is recorded by good historians. It is all corroborated by credible evidence. Truth proves itself over time. 

We need intellectual fortitude to be informed citizens and discerning consumers of information. It’s hard work. Many things we hold dear depend on it because there is no foundation under a sandcastle.