“But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building. The LORD 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.” (Gen 11:5-7NIV)
One major lesson that the bible account of the Tower of Babel teaches us is the power of unity. Men at the time they attempted to build this tower were all speaking one language. But it was not just because they were speaking one language that they could attempt such a mind-blowing project; rather, it was because they were united in mind and in purpose. They knew what they wanted, and all of them were willing to give their best to bringing it to pass. And so united and devoted were they to this cause that even God Himself acknowledged that their unity was a force not to be taken lightly.
Now, of course, as the account further shows, God needed to confuse their language and scatter them all over the face of the earth. Why? Was it because He was against unity? No! Or was it because He could not stand the progress of humanity? No! First, God is never against unity, as shown us all through Scriptures. Rather, He loves unity, preaches unity and always wants His people to live in unity because He Himself is a God of peace and unity (Ps 133; Eph 4:3; Phil 2:1-2; 1Thess 5:23).
Then God is never against our progress. Remember that when He first brought man forth, He placed on Him the blessing of fruitfulness, progress and multiplication. Why would He do that, if He did not want progress for us? Also, even after the flood of the days of Noah, He still did the same thing – He blessed humanity. And all through the Scriptures the same message is communicated, which is that God wants us to prosper in all ways and also live in health. (Cf. Gen 1:28 &9:7; 3John 2)
However, when a man begins to pursue prosperity, peace or growth without God, he is in danger of ultimately losing himself and whatever it is that he is labouring for. And that was the case with men in the days that they sought to build the Tower of Babel. Though they were united, their unity was not towards honouring God or upholding His cause. God wanted them to fill the whole earth and replenish it. But they wanted to stay in one place and make a name for themselves, as though they were existing for themselves. So, God confused their language and scattered them. And that is to teach us that anytime we gather together to stand against the will of God or cause of God for humanity, regardless of how great our number may be, whatever we are up to will certainly end up in chaos and confusion for us all (Ps 2:1-6).
Nonetheless, the unity of those people must be commended. God Himself, as I pointed out before, commended it and 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.” In other words, unity is a force that cannot be stopped, unless God Himself stops it. And God won’t stop it, inasmuch as it is functioning according to His purpose. So, if we want to be unstoppable in our homes, organisations, communities, churches or anywhere, we need to employ the force of unity, a unity that is not contrary to the will of God. Yes, if we want to be able to accomplish any good and righteous goal we set for our family or whatever group we belong to, all of us there must love unity, embrace it and also labour to maintain it. Otherwise, however talented or gifted we may be, individually, nothing we set out to do will end in success.
See, one of the reasons some families, organisations and even Christian assemblies will never rise beyond where they are is that they have not embraced unity. Yes, there may be many gifted or talented people in them. But as long as they do not embrace a culture that loves and promotes unity, they will never make any real progress. Yes, I know there are certain diabolical philosophies in the world that teach leaders that unity is contrary to development and that their followers must be set against one another in order to get the best out of them. That is nothing but satanic wisdom. And ultimately, it will be the ruin of those who embrace and practise it. So, don’t ever yield yourself to that or anything that resembles it. Instead, embrace God’s wisdom about unity, and you will be amazed at the kind of power it will release for your growth and the growth of whatever family or group you belong to.
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