Genesis 11:1-9

            {Prayer}

            Of all the different remodeling projects that people take on, the bathroom and the kitchen are the most expensive. So to cut some costs, some try to tackle the project on their own. And as with any remodeling, do it yourself project, time is always a factor.

            So, let’s say you want to remodel your bathroom and you decide that you are going to start it next weekend. But to remodel the whole bathroom, you need some extra help. You call up those people who are always willing to give you a hand, even if they don’t have the expertise of doing bathrooms.

            You call them up, they come over, and you get to work. You tell one guy they are in charge of the removal and installation of the tub, one is in charge of the toilet, one is in charge of replacing the cabinets and counter tops, one person is in charge of the faucets, another the walls, and another the flooring. You double check to make sure that everyone is good with their jobs. Seeing they are, you all put your hands in the middle and on the count of three say something like “Go Team” and you all get to work.

             Everyone is excited to get working and so they jump in with what they have been assigned to do. Do you see the problem with this? For one, the bathroom is not big enough to have six or seven people working at the same time. The flooring guy can’t work if the tub guy is trying to get the giant tub out. The faucet guy can’t work on those if there is no tub or if the old sink hasn’t been removed and the new one installed.

            With everyone in each other’s way, nothing is going to get done and there is only going to be arguing and confusion. There needs to be a leader, a plan, communication, listening and respect for the leader and the process.

            Looking at the story this morning on the Tower of Babel … there is a leader, there is a plan, there is communication … however, no one is listening, there is no respect for the leader, nor is there any regard for the process.

             In Genesis 11, the people, who were supposed to be spread out over the face of the whole earth, were all living together in one place. They said to each other, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth” (11:4).

             These people decide to build a city. That’s not bad as they need a place to live and do business. They also decide to take on a massive building project. A project to create something monumental, something that they would be remembered by, something that rises up above everything, rises up to the heavens. And why? So that they can make a name for themselves. The funny thing about this … who are they going to make a name for themselves against? All the people are together. So, if all the people are together … then the only one to make a name for themselves against is … God.

             By making a name for themselves against God … it seems like they are trying to tell God that we don’t need you. We can accomplish this, we can live our lives with great outcomes without God’s direction and/or guidance. If we need something, that’s when we’ll ask.

             In Proverbs 16 it says, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (16:18). Just as the people in Babel trusted in their own abilities … you and I … we too often seek self-sufficiency. We attempt to control our future or build our own legacy without consulting God. It’s like we put God in a box, put Him in the back corner of the closet, the basement, the shed, the storage unit. We place Him some place where He is out of the way, but still accessible if or when we decide we need Him for something.

             Our sin severely distorts our ambitions. Our sin makes us focus on our own achievements rather than aligning our lives with God’s will. Sinfully, I want to do what I believe is best for me, regardless of what it may do to others. In the two greatest commandments, God doesn’t say that we are to love ourselves with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our strength and to love ourselves rather than others. No! God says we are love Him with all our heart, soul, and strength and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Our lives are to be lived to give God glory and honor and to help our neighbor.

             But the people of Babel weren’t living like this. They weren’t listening to the instructions from their leader, from God. So God stepped in and took care of things. “‘Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.’ So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city” (Gen. 11:7-8).

             God intervened and His intervention reveals the consequences of sin. It reveals confusion, broken relationships, and chaos. The people were no longer able to understand everyone. Friendships, probably even families, were split and broken apart because they could no longer understand each other. With everyone speaking different languages, chaos ensued as people tried to figure out what just happened, as they tried to find people they could understand, and as they moved somewhere different.

             In our lives … when we pursue after our own goals without God, we often experience similar results. We can easily be frustrated, confused, and sense a lack of fulfillment. And maybe things are going really well for others, for you right now, but that’s just it. It’s right now. People today, ourselves included, we live for today. We look for the easy projects we can accomplish today. We look at the short-term, not the long-term, not the eternal-term.

             The Lord says to the people in Isaiah 29, “You turn things upside down, as if the potter were thought to be like the clay! Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, ‘He did not make me’? Can the pot say of the potter, ‘He knows nothing’?” (29:16). When we try to “build our own towers,” we end up turning our lives upside down. We turn them upside down because we’re thinking that we are in control, when in actuality … God is the one who shapes us, who sustains us and who is in control.

            And God didn’t create us to be separated from each other. God didn’t create us to be separated from Him. God created us to be in relationships, in a community. So while Babel brought about division, the Gospel of Christ brings unity. Paul says in his letter to the Ephesians, “For {Jesus} himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility” (2:14). Jesus destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility through the cross on Calvary. Jesus put to death the hostility between man and God. Through His death and by His victorious resurrection, Jesus restores our broken relationship with God and with each other.

            Not only did Jesus restore our broken relationships, He gives us an example of how we live our lives to bring glory and honor to God and love to our neighbor. And He invites us to be a part of God’s greater plan. A plan that leads to lasting unity and peace. A plan that leads others to believe in and follow in the footsteps of Jesus.

            Where the people of Babel were scattered, we heard earlier how the beginning of the Church is brought together. The Church is gathered by the Holy Spirit through tongues of fire that landed on the disciples’ heads. Given the gift of speaking different languages, people from many nations, then and today, hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ in their own language.

            You and I … we are called to build our lives, not on our own ambitions, but on God’s plan. Building on our own ambitions is like building a house on the sand, there’s no solid foundation. But if we build on the Rock, on Christ, if we build on Him and put our trust in Him … nothing will be able to destroy us.

            Success in doing a project requires communication, listening, respect for the leader and the process. God has a plan. A plan that is far better than anything anyone else could ever come up with. If we try to do it on our own due to our sinful pride and disunity, our lives will fall apart. The building of the tower in Babel reminds us of the dangers of self-sufficiency and pride. But through Christ … we find unity, peace, and a purpose that are far greater than we could ever imagine. Trust in Him to lead you and build your life on His solid foundation. As we will sing after the offering, living our lives and building our lives on God … others will know that we are Christians by our love. Amen.

            The peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord, now and forever. Amen.