Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.” Genesis 11:4
The earth was full again.
The floods were over. The Lord had saved Noah and his family. And the number of people on the earth had increased substantially. Though the people were many the language was just one. And that was a great advantage.
And now, the people had arrived at a plain in a place called Shinar. It was a good land and they hit upon a great plan. They decided to build a city for themselves. They would bake bricks and use tar to build themselves a city for all of them to live. Great plan. Great unity. So far so good.
But their plans didn’t stop there. They were not content with just building a city to live in, they wanted to build a tower too. The purpose of the tower was to reach the heavens so that they could make a name for themselves. Pride and selfish ambition overtook their good intent. Their confidence in their unity led them to believe they could achieve anything, even reach the heavens. Now that sure spells trouble.
Unity is wonderful and much needed to achieve great things. But when driven by the wrong motive the extent of harm and destruction caused can be extensive. Pride and selfishness can never lead to any good.
Does pride have a role in why you are doing what you are doing?
Lord keep my motives ever pure as I serve you, I pray.
Extended Reading – Genesis 8-11
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