Thoughts for the Day

Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. And as they migrated from the east, they came upon a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to one another, ‘Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.’ And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves; otherwise we shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.’ The Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which mortals had built. And the Lord said, ‘Look, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down, and confuse their language there, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.’ So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. Therefore it was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.

(Church in Wales Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

Today we look at the story of the Tower of Babel, part of the myths concerning the creation of the world and of its people. Noah's descendants have settled in the land of Shinar in Mesopotamia in Babylon and they decide to build a tower. What on earth is wrong with that you may ask. It's just using the gifts and talents that God has given us!

In Genesis 9.1 we read that God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth".' Was the building of the tower carrying out God's work though? It was certainly not what God had commanded. He wanted the people to spread across the earth. In their arrogance and pride they sought to make a name for themselves and to rival God, thinking that they could build a stairway to heaven. They were actually seeking to do without God. The tower wasn't the problem, it was the people's intentions that were wrong.

Today, it's the same. All our inventions and creations can be used for good or ill, and we need to be sure that what we do is in line with God's plans. The question is, are we building structures that say more about us, than our need to give glory to God? Are our plans in line with what God wants, indeed have we even asked Him?

Heavenly Father,
when we try to over-reach ourselves,
and go it alone,
bring us back to Your thinking,
that we may learn to listen to You
and to Your plans for us.
May we use our creativity,
for the good of all people,
and for Your glory.
Amen.