by Kelly Dixon
Reading: Genesis 11:1-9
During our lives, we will experience personal, as well as, professional relationships that break. Sometimes we may be going along thinking that things couldn’t get any better than they are and that things are working out just great for us, then wham! We are hit with the reality that confusion has just set in and our world has been turned upside down. Such a thing happened with the building of the Tower of Babel and as I look back over my life, I see where such a thing has happened many times to me as the Lord has tried to lead my focus back to Him.One such example was with someone who was my employer. We worked together for over eight years and it seemed like we had begun to build not only a great professional career together but also a great friendship. However, the whole relationship took my eyes off Jesus. When the Lord was ready for me to see the error of my ways, He began to gently convict my heart. As His gentle voice of conviction came, the relationship started to become very confusing and trouble arose at every turn. Ultimately the professional relationship was broken and through this we were scattered to different parts of the earth.
As it was with the Tower of Babel, all the people spoke the same language and they were planning on building a city with a great tower that reached to the heavens. However, the reason for building the tower was to bring great honor to them not to bring honor to God. It’s interesting how this story falls in Scripture. As I look at the story, it doesn’t seem to have a timeline stamp on it. Initially, it seems that this actually could have occurred only a few hundred years after the flood as the men moved eastward or it could have occurred thousands of years later. Moses, the writer of Genesis, has placed it right in the middle of Noah’s family genealogy, so I am led to believe it was closer to actually happening a few hundred years after the flood. (click here for a Biblical genealogy that describes a probable case for this belief and an interesting correlation to Peleg, Noah’s great, great, great grandson).
My reason for mentioning this correlation to the flood is because you might look at these stories and think, since men lived to be 400-500 years of age at this time, did they not remember what God did to the earth? Certainly, Noah and his sons told them stories on a regular basis. We even tell it today!! How did they so quickly lose perspective?!? Yet, can we not say the same to ourselves today? I think more and more about this in regards to relationships. Many times we put our focus into a relationship we have with someone and take our focus off Jesus. The relationship then becomes very unhealthy for us and the Lord notices that our “language” with each other is very unhealthy causing us to try to build monuments upon the relationship - focusing on ourselves. Instead, He wants our focus to be on Him and He will make our relationships perfect. He will send conviction our way to open up our eyes and once that is done confusion could become prevalent in our relationships. However, we must move forward with obedience to His convictions for in this obedience we will be blessed. Sometimes the blessing is a breaking of the relationship so you may separately grow stronger in Christ. Sometimes it is a temporary separation so you may shake out the unhealthy things about the relationship bringing a stronger one in the end. Whatever the Lord’s reasoning, we must trust in Him and be obedient to His call.
Are you in the midst of turmoil with a relationship in your life? If so, you might want to take a step back to see what the Lord is trying to teach you and how you can be obedient to Him. He wants the best for your life and the best is brought to your life when you focus on Him!!
Prayer: Heavenly Father, I praise You for sending convictions into my heart when I am not focusing on You. Help me to remember that the best relationship I can ever have is the one I have with Your Son, Jesus Christ. When I focus on Him, all other relationships in my life will thrive in You. Amen.
