Why was Building the Tower of Babel Bad?

The Bible in Genesis 11:1-9 gives account of how the inhabitants of Earth at that time wanted to build a city with a tower that reaches the sky. The passage goes on to say the Lord came to look down at the tower and He confused their language so that their plan could not continue.

But why did God do this? Why was building the tower of Babel bad?

There was nothing wrong inherently with building the tower of Babel. The problem was that the motive was to build the tower as a tribute to themselves and not to God. They thought the tower would serve as a way to keep their people together.

Many people make the same mistake today. They want everyone to notice the "tower" that they are building to honour themselves. Your tower may be anything. It may be a house, a fat bank account, a known name, a classy car or anything. Anything that takes first place in your life other than God is your tower.

I'm not asking you not to be ambitious, you should be. In fact, our God wants excellence. He doesn't accept mediocrity. God wants us to use the gifts that he has given us. Remember the parable of the talents (Luke 19:11-27). God gave unto each according to his ability and He expected them to use it as much as possible.

While it is necessary that we maximally use the gifts God has placed in us, they should not lead us to think that we are greater than God. Here is a helpful illustration. Think of yourself as the clay while God is the potter. Whatever you may achieve, what you can do and how beautiful you look; remember it all came from God.

"For God does not see as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart"- 1 Samuel 16:7

Our motive is very important in our walk with God. God considers our hearts for every action we take. He is interested in your motive even more than your action. Humans may not know your motive but God sees it all. You cannot hide your motive from God no matter how much you try. Psalm 44:21- "Would not God find this out? For He knows the secrets of the heart."

Prayer: Father, create in me a new heart and renew a right spirit within me (Psalm 51:10). Help me to do things with the right motive. Purge me of my selfish desires.



This article is a guest post authored by Israel, a writer and editor at Bible Store, a faith based store with a mission to make quality Bibles available for purchase online at affordable prices.