Resources/Articles
Living In The Shadow of Babel
The amount of information racing through our skies and pouring through our cables is staggering. If each packet of data was the weight of an eyelash, there would be over 2,400 tons of data produced every second! There are an estimated 10 billion network devices on the plant capable of communicating with each other in a microsecond. The capacity for communication was never so massive.
This interaction has certain advantages, but it also introduces many problems. For example, this connectedness causes political, social, and religious trends to spread more rapidly than ever before. Yet, wisdom is most often born through long hours of careful thought. The world of electronic communication gobbles up our time. Much of the communication in our culture is actively damaging. It scars our minds with immoral images, molds our values with human wisdom, and troubles our hearts with constant negative news. In less than one generation, the most influential voices in our lives come from far beyond our local communities. We depend upon the electronic network for our sense of security and personal significance.
THE WAY OF BABEL
There was another time of vast communication. We find the account in Genesis 11. “The whole earth had one language’ (Genesis 11.1). Access to information did not result in utopia, but divine judgment and societal collapse. This is the way of Babel.
The people were commanded to go and fill the earth (Genesis 9.1). Instead, they chose to stop and build a city. They did this for two reasons. First, they wanted to make a name for themselves (Genesis 11.4). They sought significance through their own labors. Secondly, they were searching for security (Genesis 11.4: “lest we be scattered”).
The shadow of Babel looms large over our information-obsessed culture. We are tempted to find our security in being a part of the latest trend. It makes us feel “safe” to be in the crowd, doing what is popular. People are often like birds in a field. One bird gets the idea to take off, and the whole flock takes to the sky. Another bird decides to turn left, and they all turn left. Hunters know the flocking nature of birds and use this to kill vast numbers at one time. Satan knows the flocking mentality of Christians and he uses this to snare great numbers of us at one time! Social media is a perfect weapon for his hunt. We are also tempted to find our significance in how many people know our name and support our cause. Our identity is tied to how many people “friend” and “follow” us online. We seek immortality by putting our mark on the web.
THE WAY OF ABRAHAM
The way of Bible is contrasted with the way of Abraham. Abraham is not called to build a city, but to leave one. He spent his life as a stranger in a foreign country. His security came from his lord, not numbers (Genesis 14.10-17; contrast 11.2-4). Abraham’s significance came not from what he made, but from what the Lord made of him. God promised, “I will make your name great” (Genesis 12.2; contrast 11.4). Abraham’s value did not come from his family name or his cultural popularity, but that he belonged to the Lord (Genesis 15.1,6). Abraham was happy to live in tents, but when he did set his hand to build something, it was an altar to worship the Lord (Genesis 12.7-8; contrast 11.3-4).
THE WAY OF OUT OF BABEL’S SHADOW
Abraham provides us a clear path out of Babel’s destined ruin. Don’t be too impressed with numbers. Your significance does not come from how many people you worship with, the number of people you preach to, or how many respond to your Facebook posts. A fascination with numbers will always lead to Babel (Matthew 7.13). You are more valuable than you can imagine because you belong to God (1 John 3.1). In addition, there is more security in Abraham’s tents than in Babel’s crowds!
Our information age makes us keenly aware of what others are doing around the country, and deeply concerned about what is going on around the world. These global concerns often make us blind to the needs in people right in front of us. God put you in your spot to help the person in front of you. So, put the phone down, look up, and serve.
If you must build, build an altar. Babel was a monument to human achievement, and it ended in dust and confusion (Genesis 11.7-9). Abraham’s altar, on the other hand, was a reminder of human sin and divine grace (Genesis 12.7-9). Our altar is the cross of Christ. There we see ourselves most clearly — hopeless sinners. There we see the love of God most fully (Romans 5.8-10).
We mean something to the God of heaven! So, we gladly live in tents, because he prepared for us an eternal city (Hebrews 11.16), and anything we do for him is eternally significant (1 Corinthians 15.58). It is time to come out from Babel’s shadow and into Abraham’s way.
