When people buy a home or marvel at a skyscraper, attention naturally gravitates toward the surface: the opulence of the rooms, the ornate decor, and the finishes on display. Rarely do prospective buyers ask about the thickness of the footings, the PSI of the concrete, or the depth of the foundation.
Humanity is inherently occupied with the outward appearance. By contrast, Scripture notes that God looks past the exterior straight to the heart (1 Samuel 16:7). True stability—whether structural or spiritual—always depends on what is out of sight. This reality is vividly illustrated by three famous engineering disasters.
Three Structural Warnings
The Leaning Tower of Pisa
Begun in 1173 and built over two centuries, this 184-foot Italian landmark is world-famous for a severe structural flaw. Built on a shallow 10-foot foundation over soft, waterlogged river delta clay, the tower began tilting almost as soon as construction reached the third story. It stands as a historic reminder: a structure built on unstable ground is doomed to shift.
The Millennium Tower (San Francisco)
Completed in 2009, this 58-story luxury residential skyscraper was built using roughly 950 concrete friction piles driven 60 to 90 feet into dense sand and clay, relying on “skin friction” rather than resting on solid rock. To save construction time and upfront capital, developers opted against driving piles ~250 feet down to bedrock. Under the immense weight of the concrete tower, the underlying soil compressed unevenly, causing the building to sink over 16 inches and tilt hazardously. Rectifying the omission later required a complex, multi-million dollar retrofit to finally anchor perimeter piles into deep bedrock.
Ocean Tower (South Padre Island)
During construction in 2008, this planned 31-story concrete condominium sank more than a foot and began fracturing under massive internal shear stresses. Pre-construction soil tests had only gone down to 100 feet, leaving engineers blind to a deep, highly compressible layer of expandable clay sitting between 120 and 190 feet. Because the 95-foot friction piles failed to bypass or anchor past this layer, the building suffered an unfixable lean and had to be demolished.
What Are You Trusting In?
These engineering failures share a common denominator: skimping on the foundation to save cost or effort. In each case, superficial beauty or convenience could not override bad subterranean realities.
Jesus addressed this exact principle in Matthew 7 when comparing two builders. Outwardly, their houses may have looked identical, but one was built on sand and the other on a rock. When the storms came, only the foundation on the rock held firm.
When people think about eternity and preparing to meet God, they often make a similar foundational error, relying on:
- Religion: Trying to achieve righteousness through human rules and rituals.
- Good Works: Counting on moral deeds or noble character to balance life’s scales.
- Sincerity: Assuming that as long as a person is earnest, details do not matter.
Salvation Is Not Based on Human Achievement
The Bible dismisses these shifting sands. “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us” (Titus 3:5). People naturally try to base their merit on their achievements. God’s salvation is based on divine accomplishment. There is nothing that a person can add to “fine tune” God’s plan of salvation. It is finished and will be for eternity. The only thing that a person can “do” is simply accept it!
Unlike the Millennium Tower—where engineers eventually spent over $100 million trying to retrofit a fix—human beings cannot retroactively fix a lost eternity after death. There is no second chance or make-up test (“It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgement” – Hebrews 9:27).
The penalty for sin was fully and completely settled once for all at Calvary by the Lord Jesus Christ, who stated, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). True spiritual security does not rest on the shifting sands of human achievement, but exclusively on the rock-solid, finished work of redemption accomplished by Christ.
This is the third article in the Ground Truth series, exploring truth claims in the Bible and what they mean for how we understand life, faith and eternity. You can explore the full Ground Truth series here.