building personal altars
July 7, 2009
Come, let’s build a great city for ourselves with a tower that reaches into the sky. This will make us famous and keep us from being scattered all over the world (v.4).
READ: Genesis 11:1-9
Every Friday night a group of us get together to share what’s going on in our lives, read the Bible, and pray. We’re a diverse bunch, with a mathematician, a musician, a lawyer, a public speaker, and even an amateur political activist in the ranks.
Recently we read the Tower of Babel account and were struck by the builders’ motivation. The tower was proposed, we’re told, because these men and women sought to become “famous.” By building this giant, stepped ziggurat, the proud creators would dominate the world and “make a name” for themselves (Genesis 11:4 NIV).
Such boastful intentions don’t sit well with God, and the act spelled trouble for future Earth. If humans could do this, their rebellion would only escalate. God confused their languages and brought their vain attempt at personal glory to an end.
Our generation walks perilously close to Babel-like fame seeking. A recent Pew poll found fame to be the second-highest desire for 18-to-25-year-olds (after riches). Thanks to blogs, YouTube, and Facebook, we have plenty of tools to tell the world who we are.
God has a bigger world for us than the trivial pursuit of our own fame building. It’s a world (kingdom) that we enjoy when His name is our consuming passion (Deuteronomy 6:5).
My Friday-night group wrestled with this truth for some time. How could our musician resist the temptation to “make a name” for herself? Or the mathematician, when getting his name on research papers is key to his professional success?
We realized that two things help us to succeed in Jesus: worship and service. When our lives and careers are given as an offering to God, we’ll avoid the temptation of building personal altars to the sky. —Sheridan Voysey
How consumed are you with “making a name” for yourself? How will you give your life and work to God and others today?
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