Last week an Arizona man succeeded in piling 485 Jenga blocks on top of one single game piece, breaking his own Guinness World record.  The structure was built in two hours, and was shaped like an inverted pyramid.  The tower stood for almost nine minutes before he allowed his son to knock it down.  The tower was unusual in that it expanded outward and remained hollow at the point right above the starting block.

        In recent weeks and months, there have been statues and monuments that have been purposely toppled, but none of them compared to a tower built in ancient days named the Tower of Babel.  “Words from Above” in the Bible tell us about this tower that was built for the sole purpose of reaching to the heavens because they thought they could be like God and thought that they would not need Him. The builders were descendants of Noah who were living in Babylon in the area of Mesopotamia.  The tower was in the form of a ziggurat, with each level being smaller in circumference, and being in the shape of a cone.

        God was displeased with the pride and arrogance in the hearts of the people, so He caused the people to suddenly speak different languages so they could not communicate and work together to build the tower.  The Tower was named because the word Babel means confusion, and the story  reminds us of how important it is to obey God and not think that we can build a successful but godless life on our own.  We need the direction of God, as well as the help of God, to do whatever we attempt in life.

        Not only do we need to follow the direction of God, and seek the help of God, we need to do whatever we do to honor and glorify God, and not seek attention or glory for ourselves.  The tower of Babel was not only an attempt to reach to the heavens, but it was meant to stand tall so as to be visible to everyone around it. 

        In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said in Matthew 5:14 that it was His desire for His disciples to be “the light of the world”, and they would be like a city located on top of a hill to be visible to everyone around them.  He also said that He wanted them to be like a candle on a candlestick, giving light to everyone in their homes, and not covered with a lampshade.  He told them to “let their light shine before others, so that they might see their good works, and glorify their Father in Heaven.

Larry R. Steffee is pastor of the Center Hill Brethren In Christ Church on Miller Road in Smithville.  Everyone is welcome to attend.  For informa-tion, you may email lrsteffeetn@yahoo.com.