Spirituality and the Three Little Pigs

I think this is the right idea. A lot of fairy tales have Christian lessons / principles

Here is my understanding:
Both the failed houses represent easy-believism. To bring in the Parable of the Sower, they're people who seem to recieve the Gospel, but think it will be easy, or they're just chasing after a miracle. They are a False Gospel. In the end, these builders won't make it. Only the one who builds w/ brick is built on the Rock.

"Unless the Lord builds the house, its laborers labor in vain"
"The stone the builders rejected is the cornerstone"

I think there are real world applications for many parables/spiritual stories, but the synopsis in post #1 is a bit off, because Justification should be seen as the strongest house. It is what the other faith tenses are built on and so requires a firm foundation. I do think post #2 offers a better understanding of the story compared to Christ’s teachings.

rockytopva said:

I was brought up in many different denominations and this is in no wise hinting that you need some spiritual gift to be considered spirit filled. I have met fine and terrible people in each denomination.

Spirituality and the Three Little Pigs… Scripture - Whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. – Matthew 7:24-25

Once upon a time there was a mother pig who did not have enough food to feed her little pigs. So when they were old enough, she sent them out into the world to seek their fortunes.

The first little pig was very lazy and built his house out of straw.
The second little pig was a little more diligent and built his house out of sticks.
They sang and danced and played together the rest of the day.

Meanwhile the third little pig worked hard and built his house with bricks. It was a sturdy house complete with a fine fireplace and chimney.

The next day, a wolf happened to pass by and began to hunger pork for his next meal. He stopped by the first two houses and said… “Little pig! Little pig! Let me in! Let me in!” In which the replies were… “No! No! No! Not by the hairs on my chinny chin chin!” Then the wolf showed his teeth and said: “Then I'll huff! And I'll puff! And I'll blow your house down.”

So he huffed and he puffed and he blew the house down. The wolf opened his jaws wide and bit down as hard as he could, but the first pig escaped and met up with the second pig, whose house was a little sturdier. Having the wood house blew down the two pigs escaped together. The wolf chased them down the lane and almost caught them. But they made it to the brick house and slammed the door closed before the wolf could catch them. The three little pigs they were very frightened, they knew the wolf wanted to eat them. And that was very true. The wolf hadn't eaten all day and he had worked up a large appetite chasing the pigs around and now he could smell all three of them inside and he knew that they would make a lovely feast. He stopped by the house of brick and said… “Little pigs! Little pigs! Let me in! Let me in!” In which the replies were… “No! No! No! Not by the hairs on our chinny chin chin!” Then the wolf showed his teeth and said: “Then I'll huff! And I'll puff! And I'll blow your house down.”

He puffed and he huffed. And he huffed, huffed, and he puffed, puffed; but he could not blow the house down. At last, he was so out of breath that he couldn't huff and he couldn't puff anymore. So he stopped to rest and thought a bit with rage and swore he would come down the chimney and eat up the little pigs for supper. But while he was climbing on to the roof the little pigs made up a blazing fire and put on a big pot full of water to boil. Then, just as the wolf was coming down the chimney, the little piggy pulled off the lid, and plop! In fell the wolf into the scalding water. So the little piggy put on the cover again, boiled the wolf up, and that was the end of their fearsome adversary.

Interpretation. The houses are three…

1. The Straw House – Salvation – Salvation is great… But you need to start building a second house
2. The Wood House – Sanctification – Offers a little more protection… But you need to move on to a third house
3. The Brick House – The Holy Spirit – Offers the utmost protection… A wonderful fortress in the times of storm

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Absolutely, Brother, thank you for sharing such a creative and spiritually rich post. I love how the beloved children’s tale of The Three Little Pigs was used to reflect deep spiritual truths, drawing directly from the words of our Lord in Matthew 7:24-25:

“Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock…”

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Let’s take a moment together and unpack this entire imagery through the lens of Scripture, spirituality, and truth. And I want to especially address your honest and heartfelt comment:

"I was brought up in many different denominations and this is in no wise hinting that you need some spiritual gift to be considered spirit-filled. I have met fine and terrible people in each denomination."

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Amen to that what a balanced and humble perspective! Let’s explore this further.

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The Three Houses of the Soul​

1. The Straw House – Salvation (Initial Faith)​

Salvation is the beginning, it’s the "yes" to Jesus, the doorway into the Kingdom. The first pig built a straw house: quick, easy, convenient. And this reminds us of believers who receive Christ but don’t yet root their faith deeply in the Word or walk in obedience.

“As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.” – 1 Peter 2:2

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This is where many start. But beloved, salvation is not the finish line, it’s the starting line. We must not camp out in the straw house, for the enemy prowls like a roaring lion (1 Peter 5:8), and straw can’t withstand fire or storm.

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2. The Wood House – Sanctification (Growing in Grace)​

The wood house is stronger. The second pig put in more effort. This is the believer who begins to mature, prays more, studies the Bible, resists sin they’re in the process of sanctification.

“But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” – 2 Peter 3:18

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This house offers more resistance to the wolf (Satan), but the wood still burns. Wood can be broken. And if the foundation is not Jesus. it can still fall.

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The Brick House – The Holy Spirit (Spirit-Filled Living)​

Ah, the brick house! Strong. Stable. Sealed. This is the Spirit-filled believer, the one who walks daily in step with the Holy Spirit, clothed with power from on high (Luke 24:49). They live by the Word, obey God's commands, bear fruit, and are rooted in Christ.

“Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” – Galatians 5:16
“Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.” – Ephesians 6:10

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This house withstands the huffing and puffing of the enemy because it’s built not just on bricks but on Christ the solid rock and sealed with the Spirit (Ephesians 1:13). It's not that this believer is sinless. It's that they are Spirit-led and Spirit-defended.

Your Comment: A Heart of Discernment​

You said:

"This is in no wise hinting that you need some spiritual gift to be considered spirit-filled..."

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You’re absolutely right. The Spirit-filled life is not about charismatic gifts alone. It’s about fruit , love, joy, peace, patience, kindness… (Galatians 5:22–23). Many seek spiritual gifts, but forget to develop spiritual character.

Being Spirit-filled means yielding your daily decisions, your thoughts, your will to the influence of the Holy Spirit not chasing emotional highs, but abiding in Christ.

“By their fruits you shall know them.” – Matthew 7:20

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Suggestions to Grow from Straw to Brick (Spiritual Formation Steps)​

1. Daily Word Consumption Not just reading, but meditating (Psalm 1:2-3). That’s how your house gains weight.
2. Consistent Prayer Life Communing with the Father like Jesus did (Luke 5:16). Prayer builds the mortar.
3. Obedience in the Small Things Not just hearing, but doing (James 1:22). Each brick is laid by obedience.
4. Community with the Body of Christ Iron sharpens iron (Proverbs 27:17). Build together don’t build alone.
5. Confession and Repentance Keep short accounts with God. Purify your spiritual foundation (1 John 1:9).

Stay in the Brick House​

Dear brother/sister, wolves will come. Trials, deception, temptations, storms. They’re part of the Christian walk. But when you’re in that brick house founded on the Rock, sealed by the Spirit, matured by the Word. You will not be shaken.

“The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run into it and are safe.” – Proverbs 18:10

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So let us not settle for straw or wood when God is calling us to build with living stones (1 Peter 2:5). The wolf may huff, but the Spirit will stand.

Stay strong. Keep building. And know this: You are not building alone . God is your Master Architect.
In His Grip and Grace,
Pastor Waris
“Built on the Rock that cannot move.”

rockytopva said:

Then, just as the wolf was coming down the chimney, the little piggy pulled off the lid, and plop! In fell the wolf into the scalding water. So the little piggy put on the cover again, boiled the wolf up, and that was the end of their fearsome adversary.

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It can be like if a bear raids the camp in order to eat some hungry people. The bear is the one who is eaten!!

God can turn an evil to our good.

Satan and his put Jesus on the cross, and now God is using that for so much good.

rockytopva said:

1. The Straw House – Salvation – Salvation is great… But you need to start building a second house
2. The Wood House – Sanctification – Offers a little more protection… But you need to move on to a third house
3. The Brick House – The Holy Spirit – Offers the utmost protection… A wonderful fortress in the times of storm

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I offer, that I get what you could mean, here > if we get saved, now we need to grow in Jesus and not stay where we got started. And becoming holy . . . the way God's holy love changes us to become holy . . . is very important. But then we still need to keep maturing.

However, I think it is good to consider >

DragonFox91 said:

Both the failed houses represent easy-believism.

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A New Dawn said:

the synopsis in post #1 is a bit off, because Justification should be seen as the strongest house. It is what the other faith tenses are built on and so requires a firm foundation.

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What I have is >

"But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him." (1 Corinthians 6:17)

When a person first is saved and justified, the process of this being born again includes being "joined to the Lord" so the person is "one spirit with Him". And this union is in God's almighty power to make sure the person does not get away from God, later. Plus, in this union, how the Holy Spirit is will win out over how we have been!!!

And this grows and develops, so we become more and more, and love more and more, like Jesus who is growing in us as our new inner Person >

"My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you," (Galatians 4:19)

So, yes we need to not stop at how we are now, but grow more and abound ever more, how is possible with God.

There is correction needed, so our **character** is corrected to be like Jesus so we are pleasing to God like Jesus and all-loving like Jesus > Hebrews 12:4-14 shows how we need to seek our Father for this correction and the maturing which comes with character correction by God.

"Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world." (1 John 4:17)

As God's almighty power of love cures and corrects our character to become like Jesus . . . this has us "that we may have boldness in the day of judgment".

God is the One who knows what this means > He is the One who knows how He will want us to be in the presence of Jesus. And so, what we can get ourselves to do and think and wish and will is not enough. We need how God Himself works and succeeds in us. However, we have "gifts" which are "good and perfect", even while we are not so good and perfect.

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above", we have in James 1:17. God's perfect gifts minister His own grace which works in us to change our character to become like Jesus really is. And we minister this grace to each other >

"As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God." (1 Peter 4:10)

God's grace is almighty to have His own effect in our character. He is guaranteed to succeed > "in this world" we have this guaranteed, in 1 John 4:17 > not later, procrastinating until after we die!! Because this is about how God is able, now - - - "in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation", our Apostle Paul says, also, in Philippians 2:13-16.

So . . . about what Pastor Waris is saying >

pastorwaris said:

The Spirit-filled life is not about charismatic gifts alone. It’s about fruit , love, joy, peace, patience, kindness… (Galatians 5:22–23). Many seek spiritual gifts, but forget to develop spiritual character.

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According to my discovering in the Bible > a real gift ministers God's own grace which deeply in our character changes us to become and to love like Jesus. The gift might outwardly do something practical, also, while deeply it is ministering God's own grace which is God Himself working inside us while there might be the gift's practical actions on the "outside".

Even so, there are what are not genuine gifts. You need to be able to tell the difference. A true gift will minister grace which changes us into having the fruit of the Holy Spirit, in the character of God's own love. The "fruit", then, is not some self-disciplined thing, but comes with growing in Jesus who actually is the fruit with all ***His*** characteristics of love and joy and peace and longsuffering and kindness and goodness and faithfulness and gentleness and self-control . . . all how Jesus is these things all perfect as one. It is like how an apple is one apple and fruit, but a perfect combination of being sweet and juicy and nutritious and crispy.

My take is the Holy Spirit is living waters flowing through us, like how the liquid of a mother's blood flows into her womb and forms into a baby: God uses the "water" of the mother to make a wiggling squiggling giggling baby!!! And, like this, the Holy Spirit forms into Jesus in us as our new inner Person. So, the "fruit" is Jesus who is the definition of love and joy and peace and longsuffering and kindness and goodness and faithfulness and gentleness and self control.

This comes with growing and maturing and going through things which God has arranged.

It takes time to become a good old peach >
first there's that cute little buddy, so fuzzy,
then the green teen, not exactly mature;
but even in our middle years,
yes we can be oh-so colorful
in all that peach light coming down
all around us; and yet we're still going to get
at least a little bit bitter and sour,
deep-down inside.
Because we need to go through some
heat of the summer before we can reach
a ripe old age
But then is when we can get
sweeter and sweeter
and even more and more juicy,
because we made that commitment
to learn how to love.

"'Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me,
. . . . . for I am gentle and lowly in heart,
. . . . . . . . and you will find rest for your souls.'"
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (Matthew 11:29)

So, there is the personal trusting in Jesus, taking His "yoke" so we are personal with Him, submissive to Him and personally learning from Jesus. There is this sharing and intimacy.