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, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” (Genesis 11:4)

Some of you love and are good at completing “do it yourself” projects. (I’m more of a “pay someone to do the job” type.) You enjoy planning out the steps you will take. You delight in organizing the tools and materials. A trip to Lowe’s sends your heart soaring. And then the sense of accomplishment as you look at your handiwork.

DIY is a perfectly fine pursuit when it comes to home improvements or car repairs. But it is deadly when it becomes our mindset as disciples of Jesus. And yet, we can so easily fall into this way of thinking and living. If I do a bit more Bible reading, praying, good works (name your spiritual discipline), then my relationship with God will be better, more secure, and my life will be more blessed. It is this perspective that we see, at least in part, at the Tower of Babel.

Now, there was clear disobedience at work in the hearts of the people motivating their efforts. We see it in verse 4 when they state that they are building this tower because they don’t want to be dispersed. This is in direct contradiction to the cultural mandate given originally to the man and the woman in the garden and then reiterated to Noah after the Flood. They were told that part of their purpose was to fill the earth. Hard to do that if you all congregate in one place and refuse to leave.

But there is also another layer of disorder at work in this passage. Some of the goals being sought by the tower builders would be considered good ends to seek after. Access to God, safety/security/protection, and community are not in and of themselves wrong. But this is where the DIY mindset becomes dangerous. We see it in the words, Come, let us. They want good ends but are trying to accomplish them in their own power and wisdom without any reference to God. This, in turn, distorts and twists the ends and actually makes them into idols. We are called to seek God’s ends using God’s means.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is the opposite of do-it-yourself religion. It proclaims that we are not able in ourselves to even desire the right ends and that we are disoriented to such a degree by sin that we desire wrong ends and even if we pursue an objectively good end, we do so with wrong motives and using wrong means. The end result is we deserve judgment like the Tower of Babel folks. The good news is that God, in the person and work of Jesus, has done what we could not do by ourselves. The penalty of sin has been paid. We are forgiven and given a new nature so that now we desire right ends and seek to use right means. We do this not to earn salvation from God (that would simply be more DIY religion) but in response to and with faith in all Jesus has done for us.

Saints, let us ponder anew all that God has done for us and let our hearts respond in worship and thanksgiving.