Chinny Chins

Remember the fairy tale about the big bad wolf and the three little pigs? The first pig builds his house out of straw. The wolf easily blows it in and has a pulled pork sandwich for lunch. The second pig builds his house out of sticks. This took a little more effort, but eventually the wolf blew in that house as well and enjoys a ham supper. The third pig, however, builds his house out of bricks. When he said to the wolf that he would not let him in, not by the hair of his chinny chin chin, the wolf became enraged. However, no matter how hard he tried, the wolf was unable to blow down his brick house. This piggie remained safe and sound.

Though we do not know who wrote the original fairy tale, it seems as though they were familiar with Scripture. King Solomon wrote in Psalm 127, “Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted” (Psalm 127:1). Jesus picks up on this theme and offers a similar analogy in the Sermon on the Mount. He says, “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and ignores it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”

In both cases, we are not really speaking about a physical structure. The point being made is that the Lord needs to be the foundation of our lives. One can build a mansion, a castle, but if it is set on an inferior foundation and upon unstable ground, at the first sign of a trouble – a hurricane, blizzard, tornado, etc. it will come tumbling down.

This is the same reason Solomon teaches us in proverbs to, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take” (Proverbs 3:5-6). No one I know has ever claimed to be perfect. We all make mistakes because we are all sinners. It would make sense then that trusting in our instincts, our own wisdom, our own conclusions is flawed. Think about it, that’s the only kind of house a flawed person could construct – a flawed one, right? However, what kind of house does a perfect person build? Yes, if the Lord builds the house, it can withstand anything that comes against it including the “fiery arrows of the devil” (Ephesians 6:16).    

The prince of this world (the evil one – the big bad wolf) is always at our door attempting to infiltrate our homes and our lives in any way he can. When he blows and blows, tossing everything including the kitchen sink at us, if we have built our lives on our own wisdom (sand), it all comes crashing down.

As we begin a new year in 2023, let us to continue building our lives not on our own flawed understanding but upon the wisdom and Word of God. If He builds our house, as Jesus says, “…all the powers of hell will not conquer it” (Matthew 16:18). Not even by the hair of our chinny chin chins. After all, we do want to go wee, wee, wee, all the way home to the Lord, right? I’m craving bacon now.          

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