June 21, 2013
Genesis 11:9 — Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.
Sometimes I work on big projects. Sometimes I’m working on small tasks. The only time I don’t have communication challenges is when there’s only one person involved! (Alright … sometimes I have trouble talking to myself, too!). Why is it so hard?
To be fair to me, sometimes the things I’m working on need several people involved, from more than one country. When I say, “we’re just not talking the same language, it’s true”. But there are plenty of times when other things are getting in the way.
The biggest cause of confusion might be that although we might think we have the same objectives, sometimes we have different motivations. We might think we are working at the same thing but we are not, necessarily, going to end in the same place because we are doing it for different reasons!
Another issue is when we think we are saying the same thing, but actually we are not. And this is taking me nearer to my thoughts about Babel. One interpretation of “Babel” is related to a Hebrew word meaning “mingled, mixed, confused or confounded”. All too often we fail to make progress (or even get along) because we fail to make sure we are “talking the same language” even with those we love the most. This is a problem that might be at its worst across generations … which is why I get very protective of the English language (don’t get me started….). I believe that when God confounded the language of all the earth it was more than just creating many different “natural” languages. It was a matter, too, of mixing up our minds so that we need to work very hard if we want to stay on the same page!
What was really on my mind today, not though, was another thing. Did you ever, with the best of intentions, take on a really big job … and just not finish? How come? Are you just a scatterbrain, not counting the cost before you get started, or is it something else? Why did The Lord decide to confound the language? It’s in verse 6 of the same chapter: “And the LORD said , Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do : and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do .” Another interpretation of “Babel” is “The Gate of God”. The people had decided on a really big project – they were going to visit heaven itself, without an invitation! Sometimes I make the same mistake. I take on a really big challenge without finding out if it is God’s plan or not. It never works … I get so focused on my plan that I end up saying all the wrong things to all the wrong people … in the wrong way. My ambition gets in the way of what I want to share, God’s love, the need for salvation, my good intentions and caring …
Sometimes ambition gets in the way of communication. Big or small, make sure it’s God’s plan. When He says “I have a plan for you”, He’s saying “Come and be part of my plan … don’t go off building towers to nowhere”.