Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“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.’”
NL Daily Devotion for Wednesday, September 11, 2024
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
OOH! Look at me! Look at me! Look at me! Yet again, a Bible story calls out some of the deepest human foibles. And it’s absolutely applicable to our society today. We are obsessed with being famous, wealthy, notable, and otherwise externally validated. We hope to go viral on TikTok or YouTube. We live by the number of “likes” or reshares we receive on our various social media platforms. The only thing about this story that does not apply is the idea that since we all speak the same language, we’re cooperating with one another to reach the heights. Nope. We’re all in it for ourselves! God scattering us and changing up our languages didn’t prevent us from trying to be gods in our own lives. (Or maybe it’s because England’s imperialism made English the most commonly spoken language worldwide and that’s fueled a lot of this. Maybe.)
Anyway, while this is a folk tale about why there are so many languages and cultures out there when God created everyone in one place, it still stands as an object lesson for us. We ought not to seek to “make a name for ourselves” but instead live (and take joy) in the humility that leads us to love and serve God and our neighbors.
When am I tempted to seek after notoriety?
