Genesis 11:1 -- On God's Way

"And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech."
Genesis 11:1


This is the beginning of the tower of Babel story, and it's interesting that being of one language and one speech got the people into trouble here.  In our modern world there are all sorts of problems because of our different languages, cultures, and diversity, but this is an interesting perspective that seems to show that a unified language and culture wouldn't solve our problems, but instead just encourage us to get into a different kind of trouble.

Perhaps our big problem as humans is that we start identifying with definitions and causes that take us off course from the goal of heaven, and following the Lord's path.  Not always because the cause is wrong or unjust, but primarily because we place whatever it is in front of the cause of God.  Ezra Taft Benson said “When we put God first, all other things fall into their proper place or drop out of our lives” (April 1988 General Conference, "The Great Commandment"), and I think we often let things take over our lives that might be important, but not as important as we are making them out to be... not important enough to base our whole identity or lives around.

I kind of think that's where the Tower of Babel people went wrong.  Trying to get to heaven isn't a bad goal... it's really a great goal, but instead of walking the Lord's path to get there, they thought they could just build a tower high enough that they could just walk there on their own... all the paradise, none of the spiritual effort.

We do similar things, trying to get what we want, or to find happiness, but not by the Lord's path, and unfortunately, like the Tower of Babel (and all spiritual shortcuts), it doesn't work that way.  Today, let's walk God's path, and put him first, and then it will be okay to share language, and to want to get to heaven, and all the other righteous things that we want, because we'll be seeking them the right way.  And maybe God's way isn't always exactly what we expect, but it is always what we need, and better than we could possibly do alone--or even with a whole society that speaks the same language. :)