CINCO DE MAYO -- Devotional for May 5, from "Good Seeds"

At one time all people spoke a single language. “Come,” they said, “let’s build a great city with a tower that reaches to the skies, a memorial to our unity and a monument to our greatness.” But the Lord saw what their common language was doing, so He came down and confused their tongues. Unable to understand one another, they abandoned their project and scattered far and wide over all the earth. (Genesis 11:1-9)

On the first read through of this fascinating narrative one might get the impression that Godkind and mankind were rivals and that deity was beginning to worry about losing the upper hand. Verse 6 quotes God, “With their common language and political solidarity there’s no limit to what they might do.” But Psalm 133:1 says, “Behold, how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!”? Why wasn’t God pleased with this show of peace and teamwork between fellow human beings? Two reasons: First, it was just one more manifestation of man’s rejection of his Maker and Provider: “We don’t need God, we can fend for ourselves just fine, as long as we band together. Through gathering numbers we can amass strength great enough to defy the heavens!” This is what the Tower of Babel was saying – just one more expression of the Serpent’s tempting words to Eve in the Garden of Eden, “Follow my lead and your eyes will be opened and you will be just like God” (Genesis 3:4). What Lucifer couldn’t achieve for himself he continues to try to attain vicariously through his gullible human admirers. God says, “I will not share my glory with another” (Isaiah 42:8), whether it be one angel or an entire race of men. Second, it represented a defiance of God’s order at creation to multiply and fill the earth. An interesting parallel can be seen in the early church: Before His ascension to heaven Jesus had commissioned His followers to “go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation” (Mark 16:15). But they mostly ignored this command and huddled together in Jerusalem – until God sent persecution. Then they scattered “from Judea to Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8), carrying the message of Jesus with them. Two other thoughts here: 1) God knows, and culture proves, that evil escalates in the denser population of cities; and 2) God loves variety: He created the original dog pair, but look at the kaleidoscope of breeds today, to our delight and God’s glory! We can even take this 5th day of May and join in with our neighbors south of our border in their proud affirmation of their nation in colorful celebration of freedom.