The Sin of Self
“Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth.” – Genesis 11:4
Dear Friends,
It’s amazing to me how human nature has not changed over the millennia. Take the proclamation of the builders of the Tower of Babel that we find in the Book of Genesis as an example. Each part of the statement points to human arrogance and pride.
The beginning of their folly is self-centeredness, “Let us build ourselves a city.” If you look back to the prior verse, the men didn’t even use the natural resources, stones, to build the city, but instead used man-made bricks as the primary building material.
They go on to say that they will build, “a tower that reaches to the heavens.” Because man has dismissed God from his life, a new means of attaining salvation must be sought. In his pride, man determines that he can attain heaven by his own works apart from God’s grace.
Now, apart from God and self-reliant, man exalts himself to the position of God, “so that we may make a name for ourselves.”
Finally, the summation of man’s rebellion against God is expressed in the final words, “and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth.” God had given the whole earth to Adam and Eve telling them to “be fruitful and increase in number fill the earth.” This command was later repeated to Noah after the flood. But as a final act of defiance, mankind rejects the blessings and gift of God’s creation.
Self-centeredness, self-righteousness, self-exaltation, self-determination, the sin of self. We see it today as much as it has been seen for thousands of years. For those who know God, let us continue to strive to rely fully on him and not on ourselves and for those who do not know God, let us pray that God will draw them closer to Him by his Son, Jesus Christ.
In Christ,
David
Dear Friends,
It’s amazing to me how human nature has not changed over the millennia. Take the proclamation of the builders of the Tower of Babel that we find in the Book of Genesis as an example. Each part of the statement points to human arrogance and pride.
The beginning of their folly is self-centeredness, “Let us build ourselves a city.” If you look back to the prior verse, the men didn’t even use the natural resources, stones, to build the city, but instead used man-made bricks as the primary building material.
They go on to say that they will build, “a tower that reaches to the heavens.” Because man has dismissed God from his life, a new means of attaining salvation must be sought. In his pride, man determines that he can attain heaven by his own works apart from God’s grace.
Now, apart from God and self-reliant, man exalts himself to the position of God, “so that we may make a name for ourselves.”
Finally, the summation of man’s rebellion against God is expressed in the final words, “and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth.” God had given the whole earth to Adam and Eve telling them to “be fruitful and increase in number fill the earth.” This command was later repeated to Noah after the flood. But as a final act of defiance, mankind rejects the blessings and gift of God’s creation.
Self-centeredness, self-righteousness, self-exaltation, self-determination, the sin of self. We see it today as much as it has been seen for thousands of years. For those who know God, let us continue to strive to rely fully on him and not on ourselves and for those who do not know God, let us pray that God will draw them closer to Him by his Son, Jesus Christ.
In Christ,
David
