Pride of Babel

We live in a time when many of us try to project our pride in our community in various forms. We have Euro pride, White pride, Black pride, Asian pride, and so on. The efforts of some of these organizations to promote the well being of the downtrodden should not be ignored. They work in creative ways that promote learning, give voice to others, and are empowering. They ensure that people can overcome or challenge existing power structures that shackle them to poverty and injustice. This is one of the redeeming aspects of the gospel message that Jesus spoke of; to set the captives free.

Proverbs says that pride goes before destruction (Proverbs 16:18). What gives us self worth? Our achievements or God’s role in bringing us to where we are? It is much easier to recognize pride in another person than in ourselves. What are some of the ways pride is noticeable? Some clues are big headedness, conceit, condescension, disdain, over-confidence, egoism, haughtiness, pretension, self importance, self-love, snobbery, arrogance, boasting, and so on. The proper attitude we should have toward God and one another is humility. Proud people are rarely sorry for their mistakes and never ask for forgiveness. Timothy speaks of such people in 2 Tim 3:2-7. A proud person always boasts of what they can do. However, a child of God boasts of what God has done for them, and in Jesus Christ who has called us to be like Him.

After the flood, the children of Noah slowly spread out all over the earth. They all spoke one language. They began to have an excessive belief in their own abilities. They sought to build a city whose tower would reach up into the heavens. They wanted to make a name for themselves. Could they they have achieved immortality through the Tower of Babel they left behind? They were no longer happy to be children of God; they wanted to be self-sufficient and set apart. God saw their selfish pride and wanted to rectify it. Do we goad one another toward good works or to the downward spiral of self-indulgence and deceit? Are there not times when we keep busy with or piling up material things at the cost of the needs of our community at large?

God spoke and said that the Tower of Babel was a sign that the entire race of people wanted to become equal with God. Pride, vanity, and arrogance have been seen as the source for many other sins to arise from. Hence God scattered the people over the entire face of the earth by confusing their language. God set them up against each other. If they could not understand one another they would never be able to work together. Are there not times in our own lives when we cannot seem to understand what our family members are trying to communicate to us? When do we find ourselves in this vulnerable position? Are these times when we are close to God as a family or away from God? When do we see Nations going into chaos? God created order from chaos, yet here we see the world returning to chaos. It is strange to think that a God of law and order would set the world back into a state of chaos. Yet chaos is a state of freedom with no restrictions that has in itself the ability to be creative or destructive.

Even as the story ends with chaos we see the lineage of Abraham being listed. God is a God of mercy and grace. He preserves those who are faithful to Him from generation to generation. In the parable of the Pharisee and the Publican, Jesus says that the Pharisee was proud of who he was and considered himself to be a saint in relation to the Publican who was a sinner. The Publican on the other hand was so conscious of his misdeeds that he groaned and shed tears of repentance. Jesus said, “the Publican was justified because he was humble, for the proud will be humbled, but the humble will be honored.” (Luke 18:9-14) Jesus warns us that pride is one of the evils that comes from within us and defiles us (Mark 7: 20-23). Paul urges us to be humble, thinking of others as better than ourselves (Philippians. 2: 1-4).