Ask a Christian what he knows about the Tower of Babel and most have an understanding that this was the event which caused God to confuse man with the language barrier. Most, though, lack understanding as to the reason He saw need to make this drastic change. Shortly after the flood, God had commanded the descendants of Noah to scatter themselves abroad and be fruitful, filling the earth. Genesis 11:4 tells us that the people following the great leader Nimrod had other plans.
And they said, 'Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.'
They decided to stop and build a great city with a monument that would be the talk of the town, or better yet, the world. Scripture tells us in verse 6, "And the Lord said, 'Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them.'" This is where the saying United we stand, divided we fall could have possibly been conceived because God could see the unity within the people would keep them from fulfilling the command He had given. But the true reason for their rebellion didn't lie within the building of the tower itself. Its roots grew much deeper into the hard, but fertile, soil of pride. "Let us make a name for ourselves." There is the ten megawatt neon sign making the statement for these wanderers, and men (and women) haven�t backed up from that aspiration yet.
Keeping up with the Joneses is a popular phrase referring to the common desire to be seen to be as good as one's neighbors or contemporaries, thus maintaining a favorable image in comparison with them. To fail in this area is perceived as demonstrating one's socio-economic or cultural inferiority. Looks like the phrase could have begun with Keeping up with the Canaanites. Followers of Nimrod probably didn't need much encouragement with their desires to "have their cake and eat it too," but who we are following can easily be recognized by our lifestyles. The rich young ruler in Mark 10 and Luke 18 is a prime example. He wasn't willing to pay the price to become a follower of Christ. Does that mean in order to become a Christian we have to sell absolutely everything we own, except bare essentials, and live a pauper's life? I don't think that is the point Jesus was trying to make. Matthew 6:24 says that "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." Nothing says "Look at me" more than the almighty dollar and the bling-bling that comes along with wealth in the wrong hands. For those not familiar with some of the hip words I'm using (I'm not either), check out this definition from the Wikipedia encyclopedia:
"Bling-bling" (sometimes shortened to simply "bling") is a hip-hop term which refers to expensive jewelry and other accouterments, and also to an entire lifestyle built around excess spending and ostentation. In its essence, the term refers to the exterior manifestation of one's interior state of character, normally displayed through various forms of visual stimuli."
While money itself isn't evil, the love of money and the underlying heart issues that are manifested as a result of our desire to make a name for ourselves certainly show where our loyalty really lies. Matthew 15:8 says, "These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me."
There is nothing wrong (as far as I can see) with having things, but when things have you, and we use those things to make for ourselves a monument for others to take notice of who we are, we may need to take a close look at exactly who it is we are out to please.
This story I heard a while back may be relevant:
Visibility was almost zero as the blinding snowstorm swept upon the city with little warning and the roads were clogged with multitudes of idling vehicles that had been forced to the side of the road to sit--wait--hope.
The man slammed his fist onto the dashboard. He had places to go and people to see and there couldn't have been a worse time for this. Joy filled his heart, though, as the gurgling rumble of a diesel engine rolled past at a brisk pace. The sedan pulled in behind the high-riding pickup, using its tail lights as a beacon in the white madness, stopping when they stopped, plowing ahead to keep from losing contact. It seemed miles had passed when the truck came to a lengthy stop, but the man kept focus, straight ahead--then the lights vanished. His heart raced, as did the wipers to clear the persistent obstruction blocking his vision. He thrashed at the foggy windshield with the palm of his hand, peering into the nothingness. Where could he have gone? The car inched forward.
Bump.
His foot slammed into the brake pedal, his eyes straining to see . . .
Tap, tap, tap, tap.
He jumped at the sudden image of a face at his side window. What in the world is going on here? he thought as the glass lowered so he could address the man. "Can I help you?"
The stranger stared back into the sedan for a moment. "That's what I was going to ask you," came the reply.
The business man was baffled. "Well, I'm not the one parked in the middle of the road."
The stranger hesitated, the corners of his mouth turning upward a bit. "You're in my driveway."
So . . . Who are you following?