While building a tower with dominoes, my son told me that he was going to build it higher than God. He is about to turn 4 years old, and this isn’t the first time this has come up. Recently, he has mentioned being taller than God when he grows up, and another time, he said that the house is bigger than God. We used the opportunity to review the story of the Tower of Babel with him.
We find the story in Genesis 11. Creation was still groaning from the disastrous great flood. Noah’s family had multiplied enough for there to be nations of people. The human condition still lingered in each heart like an infection untreated. Migrating towards the east and discovering how to make the brick, they decided to build a magnificent city worthy of themselves. In this city, they planned to build a tower that reached to Heaven in order to make a name for themselves. God saw what they were doing, and knew what destruction their sinful hearts were capable of. Out of mercy and love for the future of human kind, he confused their language and scattered them over the face of the earth. Some scholars believe that before this point, there was one land mass called Pangea, and that at this point of confusion, God also separated the land into continents.
They did this to make a name for themselves. Just like my son believed that he could be bigger than God or make something that was bigger than God.
We see this in the Pharisees who followed the letter of the law, yet didn’t actually know God. These people strived to build a name for themselves through their obedience to the law and it’s interpretations. They looked the part. They looked like they followed God and knew God, but they were far from Him. So far that when Jesus stood before them, they could not see Him for who He was. If they did, they did not like feeling like they were being overthrown from the thrones in their hearts.
Sometimes, I see this in churches and ministries. There are Pastors and leaders who are passionate about building God’s kingdom. There are also Pastors and leaders who are passionate about using Scripture and flowery language to build their own kingdoms. It can be hard to distinguish between the two types of leaders, especially if you are not walking closely with the Lord. I have seen churches recruit members from other churches. That is building the kingdom of the person doing the recruiting. A good way to know if someone is building God’s kingdom or their own is by observing their ability to submit and serve. In God’s kingdom, the servant is elevated into a place of leadership and given more responsibility. The way of the prideful heart and of the fallen world is to elevate oneself using whatever means necessary.
The message that I gave to my son was this. Nothing is bigger than God. Nothing can ever become bigger than God. Anyone who has ever tried has failed.
My question to you. You are working for the building of a kingdom without a doubt. Whose kingdom are you building?
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