It was new technology.
It worked and it left people fascinated.
The only problem was the fascination was with themselves. Man became so impressed with man that he stopped looking to God for help and for relationship.
That was the genesis of the story of babel. The first-time bricks were used, instead of stones for a building. The goal was lofty (no pun intended) – to build a tower that would reach the heavens.
One of God’s given attributes as creatures made in his image is the fact that we’re creators. We can put things together and make it work and yes God intended that we see success with the effort we put in.
It’s been a long time since babel, but few things have changed and for most men, making a name for themselves has become more of the priority, a priority which more often than not pushes God aside.
Technology today knows no bound. From putting men on the moon to understanding DNA and splitting atoms, the global man has transverse and harnessed creativity in unbelievable ways to the benefit of man.
Amid this success is an easy trap. When you think you’re all that because of your ability to create, you tend to believe you deserve to be worshiped and there are people who will worship you if you let them. Once you get used to worship, God becomes an inconvenient part of life because you really can’t serve two masters, especially when one of those masters in your ego.
Babel did not go uninterrupted. God stepped in and what was once a marvel became a universal sign of confusion. Self worship will lead to confusion, a path that God would have us avoid. Our lives were not made to be an incomplete confused mess. On the contrary when nothing else is working, God is the one to complete us and bring back order to our lives.
The unprecedented development of our day was unimaginable as recently as 50 years ago, giving us more chances to be fascinated with ourselves and less fascinated with God. Consequently, more confusion and emptyness to the points of self destruction exists because no common-sense guardrails exists. Life without God can only go so far, regardless of how glamorous it looks on social media.
We’re not meant to have a self-centered life because like babel it’ll only take us so far. He meant for us to have an other centered life and a God focused existence to function properly.
In the challenging times called today that is still what a loving Father wants for his children.