I came across some notes I made a few weeks ago while studying an online daily devotional. In those notes lies the inspiration behind today’s post.
I’m sure most of us are familiar with the Tower of Babel story. For those who aren’t, I’ll do a brief recap.
Genesis 11 takes us back to a time when all of the inhabitants of the earth shared a single language and settled in a plain in the land of Shinar. Now, these people decided to build for themselves a city and a tower with the capacity to reach high into the heavens, so that they would not be scattered all over the Earth. This was in direct contradiction to the command of God when He said “fill the earth”, putting the rest of creation at risk.
United, they stood behind this motive. God scattered the unifying factor they had to give them a common ground – their language – and just like that, their plans crumbled.
I must admit I gained more clarity when I meditated on the story much more than I had before. This post is not to delve in too deep into their plans to blatantly disobey God’s commands but rather the motive behind their actions. The people of Shinar were seeking self-gratification, and they wanted to make a name for themselves.
They made a decision which on the face of it was progressive, but their motive was wrong.
We all make decisions in our daily life, and they are the result of our thought processes and external influences. Sometimes, these decisions which may be for good can come from a place of self-gratification.
Remember the times you helped someone out but only did it to make them feel indebted to you and create an avenue to rub it in their faces? Yup, wrong motive!
We must be mindful of actions we take that seek our gratification and ego-boosting without consideration for the other person.
It is possible to do great deeds and completely miss out on the blessings we would have received because the reasons and intentions behind that deed were not pure.
What is your motive for helping someone or the relationships you form with the people around you? Is it for the accolades or the praises that you want to be showered on you? Or is it because you genuinely wanted to make life better for the person, no strings attached? It is an answer only your heart can give.
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Love,
Diane.
