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Aug 17, 2022 08:00am

What Will You Do With That Man Made Tower?

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Hello, ya’ll.

To my loyal subscribers, I know it’s been a hot minute since I’ve written something – anything.

But this morning, after a week of quarantining from COVID and doing the things I love the most – reading books and watching movies . . . I woke up with a familiar itch in my fingertips.

The itch to write; to create profound words and sentences that build into glorious architecture.

OK, perhaps my writing skills are not as poignant as the greats, but one day maybe I can get there.

Getting there.

This is what I’d like to chit-chat about today if you have the time to let your coffee simmer and join me down a rabbit hole.

What is your “there”? If only I can accomplish “this” or get “that” or have “more”.

We, as a human race, are extremely redundant at chasing after this great “something”. Honestly, we have historic titles slapped to wanting more: “Manifest Destiny,” “The California Gold Rush,” pick and choose whichever “great” explorer you know by name who traveled across an ocean, decimated an entire people group, culture, and society, and stole their land, resources, and riches.

Road to El Dorado – anyone?

Even some of my favorite movies highlight people spending their entire lives chasing after something: National Treasure, Iron Man, Star Wars, The Greatest Showman, Hamilton, the list could continue.

Whether it’s power, money, fame, or all of the above, we intrinsically chase after that great something. We intrinsically desire to be great at something and to be remembered.

We want to be like God.

Does this sound familiar? Well, the first thought for anyone who grew up spending Sunday morning in Bible school would be Adam and Eve. They wanted to see the world like God sees the world. Plus that fruit from the Tree of Knowledge looked oh-so-yummy.

What I’m driving at is a couple chapters later:

At one time all the people of the world spoke the same language and used the same words. As the people migrated to the east, they found a plain in the land of Babylonia and settled there.

They began saying to each other, “Let’s make bricks and harden them with fire.” Then they said, “Come, let’s build a great city for ourselves with a tower that reaches into the sky. This will make us famous and keep us from being scattered all over the world.”

But the Lord came down to look at the city and the tower the people were building. “Look!” he said. “The people are united, and they all speak the same language. After this, nothing they set out to do will be impossible for them! Come, let’s go down and confuse the people with different languages. Then they won’t be able to understand each other.” In that way, the Lord scattered them all over the world, and they stopped building the city. That is why the city was called Babel, because that is where the Lord confused the people with different languages. In this way he scattered them all over the world.” Genesis 11:1-9 NLT

So I’ve heard this story for years: humans became prideful, they wanted to build a tower to the sky, yada, yada, yada . . . God created different languages on that day.

I’ve never seen how it directly applies to every human since then.

What tower are you building?

What dream are you chasing?

What are you desperate to achieve?

Are you working with God or against God?

Let’s not forget what Paul said about being truly happy:

Sometimes it’s easy to chase “more” or “that thing” on autopilot. Especially when the world around us says, “The American dream is good! Wealth, success, materialism – it’s all good! More WILL make you happy! And if it doesn’t – we will sell you this Disney’ed concept of true love that will make you buy more stuff you do not need.”

It’s good for us to consider Paul’s concept of living truly happy:

“I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:11-13 NLT

Christianity isn’t supposed to be an easy lifestyle. We are supposed to swim against the stream – we are not of this world philosophically, culturally, or societally. That’s in the home, in the workforce, in how we give and serve and love.

It’s a steep calling.

And let me be the first to say I am not perfect. I fail. I chase things. I find myself chasing money, fame, romance, perhaps being an epic writer, and desires of my heart that are not lined up with God’s will or calling (things in my life that do not honor Him). I find myself lost from time to time. Adrift at sea without recognizing my anchor.

Let’s tear down our towers today. Stone by stone, brick by brick.

And seek and pursue the one who truly knows and loves us to the fullest and has the best plan for our lives already designed.

In love and truth,

Melody Turner