Deacon Jude Tam Tran

THE VISION BEHIND THE BRICKS

“Where there is no vision, the people perish.” — Proverbs 29:18
“If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light.” — Matthew 6:22

It was one of those blazing hot afternoons where even the sun looked like it wanted to take a water break. Three construction workers were sweating buckets while stacking bricks, mixing cement, and swatting flies that clearly had personal vendettas.

Along strolls a curious passerby—you know, the type who asks questions the moment people are clearly busy. He stops, wipes his forehead, and says, “Hey! What are you guys doing?”

The first worker, covered in dust from head to toe, doesn’t even try to hide his annoyance. He snaps, “What does it look like we’re doing? We’re building a wall, man! A wall! You happy now?”

He grumbles something about people with too many questions and gets back to slapping cement like it owes him money.

The passerby slowly backs away from him—because you don’t argue with a man holding a trowel and a bad attitude.

He approaches the second worker, who looks calmer, more composed, and significantly less sweaty. “And you? What are you doing?” the passerby asks.

The second worker nods politely and replies, “We’re building a skyscraper. This wall is only one part of a much bigger project.”

He gives a small smile, shrugs, and continues working with the grace of someone who’s already imagining air-conditioned offices.

The passerby, now intrigued, approaches the third worker. This guy is humming, smiling, and placing bricks like he’s decorating a giant cake. “So, what are you doing?” the passerby asks.

The third worker beams like a man who’s already seen the future.

“We,” he says proudly, “are building a new city. Homes, offices, roads, parks… a place where families will grow, kids will play, businesses will rise, and life will happen.”

The passerby feels something warm inside—either inspiration or heatstroke—and walks away thinking about the three very different answers to the same question.

Ten Years Later…

Time passes, seasons change, hairstyles evolve (some for the worse), and ten years slip by like loose change in a couch.

The first worker?

He’s… still building walls. On a new site, with new bricks, but the same complaints.

“Same job, different day,” he mutters. He works hard, but his vision has never grown beyond the wall right in front of him.

The second worker?

He’s now sitting in an office wearing a clean shirt—finally free from dust. He became a construction engineer. He designs buildings, reviews blueprints, and now bosses around people who remind him of his old self. His vision took him higher—literally.

And the third worker?

Well, he’s now the boss of both of them, he became the mayor of the city

He oversees entire projects, makes decisions that shape skylines, and—believe it or not—he still hums while working. His vision was bigger than a wall, bigger even than a skyscraper. He saw a city, and the city grew inside him long before it grew on the ground.

All three men performed the same task. All three lifted bricks, mixed cement, sweated under the same sun, and probably ate the same sad lunch from the same dented lunchboxes.

But the difference was not in their labor.

It was in their perspective.

One saw a task.
One saw a project.
One saw a future.

The size of your vision determines the size of your growth.

The Bible Says Something Similar…

 “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” — Proverbs 29:18

Without vision, people get stuck. They build walls forever. They never rise above the routine. They never see how their small efforts are part of something grand.

And Jesus once said:
“If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light.” — Matthew 6:22

That’s not just about eyesight. It’s about how you see life, how you interpret your purpose, how you understand the work in your hands.

When your inner vision is bright, everything you do reflects light.
When your vision is small, everything feels small.
When your vision is big, you grow into it.

Let’s be honest:

Most of our daily tasks aren’t glamorous. Dishes need washing. Bills need paying. Work emails need answering. Sometimes life feels like a long series of brick-laying moments.

But here’s the powerful truth:

The value of your work isn’t determined by the task itself, but by the meaning you attach to it and the one who saw the future ended up leading it.

Every day, God hands us bricks—small tasks, ordinary responsibilities, routine moments.

So, when God asks you, “What are you doing?”

Answer with vision.
Answer with faith.
Answer with purpose.

Because the size of your vision determines the size of your future.

Think big does not cost you anything —just ask the third worker.