Is There Any Babel In Your Church?

How to Avoid Re-visiting the Attitudes of Babel

Illustration:Illustration:Once we assuage our conscience by calling something a "necessary evil," it begins to look more and more necessary and less and less evil.

Sidney J. Harris.

Read Genesis 11:1- 9

Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. As men moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there. They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar 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 and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth.” But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building. The LORD said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 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. That is why it was called Babel—because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

Too many Americans are thinking that we must live with certain necessary evils in order to survive and meet our needs. This same attitude is what led to the disasterous attitude of Babel. The following is a list of guidelines in helping us replace the attitudes of Babel with the Spirit fill mind that is empowered by Christ’s mind.

1. Babel is revisited when people worry so much about their own needs that they fail to realize all good gifts are given to us by God. Jesus said, “Do not worry saying, ‘What shall we eat? Or What shall we drink? Or what shall we wear. For the pagans run after all these things and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But, Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you as well. (Matt 6:31-33)

Only the Lord is able to give blessings without adding any sorrows. Many man made kingdom have brought with them much pain and sorrow.

Paul wrote, “The LOVE of money is the root of all sorts of evil. People who who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Some people eager for money have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” (I Tim. 6:9,10)

Americans have to constantly learn how to follow the pattern of Paul who said, “I know how to be abased and live humbly in straitened circumstances, and I know also how to enjoy plenty and live in abundance. I have learned in any and all circumstances the secret of facing every situation, whether well fed or going hungry, having a sufficiency and enough to spare or going without and being in want.

I have strength for all things in Christ who empowers me and can do everything He asks me to do with the help of Christ who gives me the strength, power and guidance required.” (Phil. 4:12,13)

Illustration:A young man came out of the Ozark Mountains in his early manhood with the firm purpose of making a fortune in gold. Gold became his god, and putting it first, he won it. He came to be worth millions. Then the crash came, and he was reduced to utter poverty. His reason tottered and fell along with his fortune.

Source Unknown.

2. Babel is revisited when people focus more on things below rather than on things above. Paul wrote, “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things… Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.” (Col. 3:2,5,6)

Too few believers take seriously the admonitions and warnings about idolatry. There are terrible consequences for those who fail to put to death their earthly desires. The people at the tower of Babel were put in to a state of confusion and were scattered so they were not able to relate properly with each other. We are seeing these consequences all over our society today.

Illustration:Idolatry is worshiping anything that ought to be used, or using anything that ought to be worshiped.

Augustine.

3. Babel is revisited when people try to find a gateway through any other means except Jesus Christ. All the other religions, philosophies and human attempts to find spiritual peace will lead to destruction, confusion and eternal separation from God. Yet, so many people feel that they need to do something to work their way toward God.