“THE SKY IS NOT THE LIMIT”
GENESIS 11:1-9
11:1 Now the whole earth had one language
and the same words.
2 And as they migrated from the east,
they came upon a plain in the land of Shinar and
settled there.
3 And they said to one another, "Come,
let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly." And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar.
4 Then they said, "Come, let us build
ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves; otherwise we shall be scattered
abroad upon the face of the whole earth."
5 The LORD came down to see the city
and the tower, which mortals had built.
6 And the LORD said, "Look, they are
one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; nothing that they propose
to do will now be impossible for them.
7 Come, let us go down, and confuse
their language there, so that they will not understand one another's speech."
8 So the LORD scattered them abroad
from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city.
9 Therefore it was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth;
and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.
The final countdown is about
to being. In just a couple of months 35 high school youth and adults from this wonderfully gifted Body of Christ will be on
their way to Kentucky.
While they’re in Kentucky they’ll be working at the Habitat for Humanity
just outside Louisville. Once again, I’ll be right there
with them. Of course, the only reason they let me go on the mission trip is because
I promised everyone that while I’m at the worksite I won’t use any power tools.
I have to admit that for me it’s a good rule. You see, when it comes
to mechanical things my abilities and my aptitude isn’t very good. In fact,
it may amuse you to know that many years ago when I was in college I actually had the radiator stolen out of my car and never
even knew it was missing. My dad still can’t figure out how I drove the
car four miles without a radiator.
When it comes to modern technology
and all the gadgets and gizmos that we have, I guess I’m a little like Woody Allen.
Several years ago he spoke at a college graduation and in his speech he confessed to having a little bit of a phobia
when it comes to modern technology. He also suggested that it would be a big
mistake to assume that modern technology can really solve all of our problems. At
one point he asked, “Can technology really be the answer, when my toaster has never once worked properly in four years? I followed the instructions and pushed two slices of bread down in the slots, and
seconds later they rifled upward. Once they broke the nose of a woman I loved
very dearly.”
Sometimes modern technology
is really fascinating and sometimes it’s downright frustrating.
Sometimes I wonder
what God thinks about all our modern technology. Sometimes I wonder what God
thinks about all the things we can do today. Before you answer that question
let’s take another look when all the people of the earth came together to build the Tower of Babel.
By today’s standards t the Tower of Babel probably isn’t all that impressive but it certainly got God’s attention.
We’re told that God came down from the heavens to get a closer look at the tower that was reaching up to the heavens. God’s children were doing something amazing, but that didn’t make
God proud. Instead it actually provoked God into doing something really drastic. So, what did God do? God scattered the
people who were building the tower over the face of the earth and confused their speach.
God gave them different languages to make it harder for them to communicate and cooperate with each other.
Now the Tuesday evening Bible
Study felt that this drastic reaction made God look a little petty, but it isn’t petty at all when you look at why the
people of the earth decided to build that tower. “Come,” they said,
“let us build ourselves…a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves…”
That sounds a little arrogant
and self-serving don’t you think? It would have been different if they
had said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heaven…so we can be closer to
God.” That’s not why they built the tower though. They built it so they could make a name for themselves. That
tower was all about a lust for power, prestige and pride and God knew it. That’s
why God also made that ominous prediction after coming down from the heavens to get a closer look at the tower. God looked at the tower and then warned, “this is only the beginning of what they will do; nothing
that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.”
God knew that technology
is really a two edged sword. We can use our minds to invent things that are good
and we can use our minds to invent things that aren’t so good and it’s true.
Technology has given us a lot of good things; good thinks like dialysis machines that can be used to save lives and
telescopes that can be used to see distant galaxies and jets that take people to exotic destinations all around the world;
good things like computers that can help you do your work more efficiently and satellites that make it easier to predict where
a hurricane may be going and cell phones that you can use when you find yourself in a dangerous situation. On the other hand technology has given us a lot of not so good things; not so good things like more and
more deadly weapons of mass destruction and factories that are killing God’s creation with more and more global warming
and televisions that are spewing more and more violence and immorality into our society; not so good things like Internet
chat rooms where pedophiles can lurk and human cloning that thumbs its nose at God and basically says, “So God, I guess
you’re not the only one who can create life now,” and spy ware that can be used to steal your credit card information.
God knew that
technology is really a two edged sword. That simple reality can be seen in a
playful email that I received a little while ago. Maybe you also received the
email. The email starts with a variation on some very familiar words.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth and the earth was full of broccoli and cauliflower
and spinach.
God filled the earth with green and yellow and red vegetables of every kind, so Man would live a long
and healthy life.
Then Satan created Krispy Crème and Ben and Jerry’s.
And Satan said, "Do you want one or two scoops?"
And Man said "Two, and could you also put some sprinkles on it."
So, the Man ate and ate and ate and gained 10 pounds.
Then God said to the Man, “Why don’t
you try my fresh garden salad?”
And Satan gave the Man thousand island dressing and garlic toast on the side.
And Man and unfastened his belt and ate some more.
Then God brought forth running shoes so the
Man might loose the extra pounds.
And Satan gave the Man cable TV with a remote control so he wouldn’t have to toil changing the
channel from ESPN to ESPN 2.
And the Man laughed and cried before the flickering light and gained even more weight.
Then God
brought forth the potato, naturally low in fat and brimming with nutrition.
And Satan peeled off the healthy skin and sliced the starchy center into chips and deep-fried them.
And the Man’s cholesterol went through the roof.
And Satan also gave the Man McDonald’s
and the 99 cent double cheeseburger and said, “Do you want fries with that?
And the Man said, “Yeah and super size it.”
And Satan said “It is good.”
And the Man went into cardiac arrest.
So, God sighed and created quadruple bypass surgery…
…and Satan created the HMO.
Technology is a two edged sword.
It can be used to help us, but it can also be used to harm us. If we’re
not careful it can and will destroy us. The only way to keep that from happening
is learn from the mistakes that were made by the people who built the Tower
of Babel. It was a lust for power and prestige that built the Tower of Babel.
The people patted themselves
on the back and said, “Look at what we can do. You know what? The sky’s
the limit.” Then God came down from the heavens and after looking the tower
over said, “Not so fast there. Let’s get one thing straight here. I’m still in charge.”
Maybe that’s what we
need a little more of today when it comes to our technology.
Maybe what we really need
as a little more humility…
…a humility that accepts
the fact that we don’t know what’s best and we don’t have all the answers and that there are something we
shouldn’t be doing when it comes to experimenting and inventing and building things.
General Omar Bradley summed
the situation up perfectly with these words. It’s unfortunate, he said,
but, “We have grasped the mystery of the atom and rejected the Sermon on the Mount.” That needs to change before it’s too late. That needs to change and it will change if God’s
people speak up and keep speaking up until the scientists and the politicians and the CEO’s and the generals and television
directors and the politicians listen. Amen.
Rev. Dr. Richard A. Hughes
May 27, 2007
