Seven people were killed when a hostel building collapsed in Delhi. According to reports, a load bearing wall had allegedly been removed while four additional floors were being constructed.
Having been closely connected with the building industry, I have often watched people stare thoughtfully at a wall and say, “Why is this wall here?”
The architect might have had a reason.
The structural engineer certainly had a reason.
The building, if it could speak, would probably shout, “Please leave that wall alone!”
But then an unqualified interior designer arrives carrying a measuring tape, a hammer and enormous confidence.
“Remove this wall,” says the customer. “I want a larger drawing room.”
“Certainly,” says the designer, who knows everything about curtains and nothing about columns.
The wall comes down. The room becomes larger. Everyone applauds.
For a while, nothing happens.
That is the dangerous moment. Because when nothing happens immediately, foolishness begins to look like wisdom.
Then one day, the building sighs, shudders and collapses.
And that brought me to another structure. Ourselves.
What is your load bearing wall?
For some, it is integrity. For others, it is faith. It could be honesty, humility, conscience, discipline or the fear of God.
These qualities may not look decorative. Nobody enters your home and says, “What a beautiful load bearing wall!”
People admire the chandelier. They praise the marble. They photograph the sofa. But it is that unnoticed wall that quietly holds everything up.
The same is true of character.
A politician may remove integrity to make more room for power. A businessman may demolish honesty to accommodate profit. A priest may knock down spirituality to build a larger chamber for pride. A corporate chief may remove conscience because it interferes with the view from his corner office.
And for a while, everything appears fine.
The speeches continue. The profits rise. The congregation applauds. The cameras flash. Another floor of ambition is added.
But deep inside, cracks begin to appear.
We are told that thousands of people have died in building collapses across India. Yet other collapses are happening around us too. Institutions are crumbling. Religious organisations are shaking. Businesses are falling. Political structures are developing cracks wide enough for the truth to walk through.
The tragedy is that we often blame the final floor, forgetting the wall we removed years earlier.
So before enlarging your room for ambition, power, pleasure or wealth, examine what you are pulling down.
Ask yourself whether it is merely a partition or the very wall holding you together.
Because once your load bearing wall is gone, you may continue standing for some time.
But you have already begun to collapse…!