On one of his recent tours to the holy land, author and teacher Ray Vander Lann brought a group of believers to the ruins of ancient Caesarea, one of King Herod’s amazing architectural wonders of the world. As they waded in the shoreline of the once spectacular seaport palace, they noticed shiny man-made pieces of stone littered in the shallow waters. As the group began to pick up the pieces, Ray informed them that what they were holding in their hands were tiny pieces of marble that adorned the walls of Herod’s palace. There in the ruins lay remnants of the “invincible” edifice that once represented one of the most powerful kings in ancient history. You see, Herod was building for himself—his glory, his position, his influence, his legacy.

Ray then pulled out a few small, ordinary looking smooth stones from a cloth bag he had been carrying in his pockets. He explained that the rocks in his bag were taken near the spot that David had his fateful battle against the Philistine giant Goliath. No shine. Nothing outwardly special about their appearance—much like David. Unlike Herod however, David was not living for himself but rather for the Lord. Just before striking his fatal blow it was recorded that as he faced Goliath he said, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. Today the Lord will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head. And then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel! And everyone assembled here will know that the Lord rescues his people, but not with sword and spear. This is the Lord’s battle, and he will give you to us!”

David wanted Goliath and the world to know that there is a God in Israel and that the Lord rescues his people. God rescued David, his people and He rescues you and me from our battles as well. So the question is, who are you building for? Beware dear brothers and sisters that not unlike Herod, we can find ourselves building our personal kingdoms to serve our own desires for power, control and status.

Here’s the lesson—if we build for ourselves our hopes and dreams will be like those washed up pieces of stone on the shores of Caesarea that tourists trample without a clue of their source. On the other hand, if you choose to build for the Lord, much like David, you will be telling the whole world about the God of Israel whose kingdom never ends and leave behind a legacy of faith.