Genesis chapter 11

 Genesis 3:1-4 They said to each other, ‘Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.’ They used brick instead of stone, and bitumen for mortar. 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.’ (NIV)

Here, fairly soon after a catastrophic flood that destroyed everyone except Noah and his family, men have turned away from God. Noah walked with God, he was considered righteous and presumably taught his children about God so they would walk in his footsteps. Yet here we are, several generations later, and men decide to build a great tower to make a name for themselves, to show how important they are, how successful, how wealthy. It is not a case of building a monument to God, to thank him for all that He has done. No, it is a tower to impress people with the strength and might of the men who designed and built it, to show off their abilities and all they can do. Not only that, they wanted the tower to reach to the heavens, they wanted to be like God themselves.

So God comes down to take a look. He doesn't just look from up in heaven and see what is going on, He comes right down and takes a closer look, to see right into each man's heart, to examine their motives, their reasons. He sees that the men are building this tower to impress others with their achievements and takes action accordingly by giving each one a different language, because if men can't understand one another, how can they work together to build a tower?

In the same way, we each build towers, monuments, in our own lives. We may wear designer clothes, have a big house in its own grounds, the latest and most expensive car, a high powered city job or run a very successful business, be a world famous artist or writer, but all that we have comes from God. He is the one who gave us the ability to write, to paint, to be good with numbers, be a whizz on the stock market, the skills to be an engineer, businessman/woman, and it is to Him the thanks are due. Yes, we may well have done the work, studied hard and passed the exams, gained the qualifications, married into money, scrimped and saved over the years and now are sitting back enjoying the money in the bank, but God is the one we should be thanking.

This is exactly what these men were doing here. They were building a tower to impress, a monument to look up to, to venerate, even possibly worship when you consider the skills and abilities of the men who had built it. They wanted to be known for their achievements, the things they had done. They didn't consider the God of the heavens, they didn't consider whether He would approve, whether He would want them to do this. They just went right ahead and started building.

It's easy to ignore God, to never factor Him into the equation as we get on with our busy lives. It takes effort, dedication to have a quiet time, to read our bible, to turn to God, spend time in His presence. There are so many demands on our time these days, so many demands. There is work, the children, family, health, all the jobs we have to do, the things we want to do if only we have time, hobbies, and all sorts. Where does God fit into all of this? We can get up in the morning with the best of intentions and then get side-tracked even before we get out of bed. We can build our own towers to make ourselves feel important, the towers of being a good cook, providing for our family, always having a hot meal on the table at tea time, being clever with our hands, a good dressmaker, knitter, crafter, being adept at using a computer, filling our hours with work as that shows how busy we are, how important, how caring for our family as we strive to make a living.

What towers are you building in your heart? What towers am I building in my heart? Are we trying to build a tower to the heavens, to reach God and prove how successful we are, how much better than the next person?

So when I sit back and congratulate myself on something that I think I have done well, I need to remember that God is the one who gave me the gifts, God is the one who gave me the ideas, the skills, and without him, I have nothing. And then I need to make sure I spend time in His presence, refuse to let the busyness of life take me away.