What Language Do You Speak?

Genesis 11 tells the story of the Tower of Babel.

It says, "Now the whole world had one language and a common speech.  As people moved eastward, they found a pain 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; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.'"

Sermons about this will tell you different things.

They'll say that the people were vain and self reliant and you can tell that because they used bricks rather than stone...man made instead of God made.

They'll tell you that God objected to the fact that the people of Babel were "trying to make a name" for themselves.

They'll say that in Genesis 9:7 God had commanded them to "be fruitful and multiply and to spread out over all the earth," but here they say they are building the tower because, "otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth."

But yesterday at church I had some new thoughts about Babel and the lessons it held.

At church I happened to reconnect with Ethan - a guy who had also served as an intern in Nicaragua this summer.  On my last day in Nicaragua, Ethan translated for me as I said "goodbye" to my friends in San Benito - Leyda, Roberto, Ovidio and Lorena.  I told them that I loved them - they said they loved me.  I told them I would miss them.  They said they would miss me.  I said I had enjoyed working with them.  They said they had enjoyed inviting me into their homes and lives.  We all cried.

And as Ethan and I talked yesterday I realized that while my Nicaraguan friends and I did not speak the same language per se - we all spoke the language of love, and THAT language transcended the English/Spanish barrier we had experienced.

When the people of Babel started to build their tower, God 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."

I think that means God confused the language, because in planning to build the tall tower that reached "to the heavens," the people of Babel were trying to be their own god.  

But what if, instead of the common language of hubris, they had spoken the common language of love?  What if instead of trying to build a tall tower - they had behaved like the church found in the book of Acts:

• Selling property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 
• Meeting, breaking bread, and eating together with glad and sincere hearts.  
• Praising God and enjoying the favor of all people...

In the Church of Acts - the people were more concerned with building each other up - than building something that honored themselves.

So today, let us remember that regardless of what language we speak - English, Spanish, French, Italian or something else - if we make the language of LOVE our native language, the things we build will be honoring to God.