Babel

I’m currently doing a series on stories from the Bible that teach us about unity through the lens of language. Last week, we talked about the power that language has to create commonality among individuals and to create barriers between us. In this installment, we’re going to see where this unifying and dividing power of language comes from. Because it’s nothing new, and if we’re smart, we can learn from the mistakes of those who came before us.

The first story in our series on language and unity comes from Genesis 11. In this passage, we’ve just gotten through the flood with Noah and his family. They’ve gotten off the boat and restarted civilization, and now it’s time for humanity to spread back out over the earth as God commanded them to. Let’s read what happens next:

Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. 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.” And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another's speech.” So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth. And from there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth.

So here we are. God’s just hit the big reset button on humanity with the flood, and he’s ready to fill the earth back up with people. But instead of taking off and populating the world the way God told them to, they devise a different plan. They’re going to all stay in one place and make a name for themselves. The story specifically says that they decided to build this tower because they thought it would keep them from being spread out over the earth. These people didn’t want to go along with what God told them to do. They wanted to do their own thing. Sound familiar?

They were able to come up with this plan because they could communicate with one other. Up to this point in the biblical narrative, there weren’t different languages and people groups. The human race was still small compared to what it is today, and everyone spoke the exact same way. They didn’t have language barriers or cultural differences to work through. These people were able to set their minds to something and immediately get to work together as one.

Here’s what we’re seeing in this passage: This group of people was united, but they were united for the wrong cause. They were united in rebellion against God. And that wasn’t going to work.

We see a little bit of irony in verse five. This rebellious group decided that they were going to build a tower to heaven. But their efforts were so futile that the scripture tells us God had to come down to see what they were doing! Picture it: These ancient Babylonians working so hard to build the biggest thing they can imagine in order to reach God’s level, and God’s up in heaven squinting to see what they’re up to. What a great image of how foolish we look when we try to work against God’s plans for us.

Of course, this arrangement wouldn’t do. God had given humanity a second chance, an opportunity to do things the right way this time, and the first thing they did was mess it up. So he had to do something to get them back on the right track, and he pinpointed that the problem was actually their unity.

The plan was for everyone to spread out over the earth and speak a global language, and if these people had done what they were supposed to do, everything would have been fine. But since they united against him, God had to break up their little building project. And he did so by confusing their speech.

Can you imagine having a conversation with someone who suddenly started speaking in a different language out of nowhere? Or reading a book (or blog post) that randomly switched from English to French with no warning? If I could speak a second language, I’d start writing in it right now to give you an example, but sadly, I cannot. If I did, though, that would be pretty jarring, right?

Now imagine the confusion these people must have felt. They’ve never heard of another language before because there’s only one, and out of nowhere, they all start speaking in ways the others can’t understand. Everyone was talking, but it sounded like gibberish. They were babbling! (The pun works in both English and the original Hebrew the story was written in.)

Pandemonium broke out, and soon, frustration set in. The builders couldn’t work together because they couldn’t communicate. The project broke down because their unity was shattered. And soon enough, they went their separate ways and spread throughout the earth, just as God had told them to do.

And that’s the Bible’s explanation for why we have different languages today. It’s estimated that there are about 6,500 different languages spoken in the world today. Of course, some are more popular than others, and many people speak more than one language. But still, that makes for a pretty disjointed world. If language is the thing that separates us from other species and allows us to work together, then the fact that there are so many languages makes the world look pretty divided, doesn’t it?

In psychology, we talk about different biases that people have. Biases are just the brain’s shortcuts for processing information more quickly. As amazing as our brains are, there’s no way they could process and interpret each and every individual piece of data that we come across in the world. And so our brains identify and create patterns that we can use to help us avoid having to re-process information over and over again. This is perfectly normal so long as we remain aware of it and keep it in check.

Example: We all practice ingroup bias. Our brains are naturally wired to prioritize those who are most like us. This only makes sense. If someone didn’t care more about members of their family than they did for complete strangers, you’d probably think something was wrong with them. If you’re a part of a church or other community you find meaningful, then you know the shared sense of connection you feel for that group. I imagine that most of my readers live in the United States (though the logic would apply to any country). That’s an ingroup.

Sports teams. Marvel superhero fans versus DC superhero fans. Texas! These are all ingroups that one may or may not belong to.

We like our ingroups. We tend to look on them favorably, consider their needs to be more important than others, and side with them when we sense conflict. Our ingroups give us a sense of belonging and community. They remind us that life is about more than just ourselves, and we need that. Our ingroup bias is a natural part of who we are.

We also practice outgroup bias. As you can imagine, this is the opposite of ingroup bias. Whereas ingroups are the people we belong to, outgroups are those we don’t. They’re the “others.” The outsiders. The people we don’t identify with.

Rival sports teams. Rival superheroes. States other than Texas. These are outgroups.

Just as we tend to prefer our ingroups, we tend to downplay, ignore, or oppose outgroups. We see them as inferior. We see them as the competition. Often, we see them as dangerous, and sometimes for good reason. We may not hate outgroups, but we certainly don’t have any affection for them. Empathizing with them is hard because we just don’t connect with them the way we do with our ingroups.

All of this, by the way, is completely subconscious. Our brains are doing this for us all the time without us even noticing it. You may not even be completely aware of all the ingroups and outgroups your brain has created, although you probably could list several. And there’s nothing wrong with having these categories; it’s natural, and it helps us navigate the world. But it does create barriers between us that don’t necessarily exist outside our heads.

Language can be a strong indicator of whether someone belongs in an ingroup or outgroup. After all, it’s hard to build an emotional bond with someone you can’t understand. We like to be in groups with people we identify with, and finding that connection with someone through a language barrier isn’t always easy. And so, we rely on language to help us understand who is one of us and who isn’t.

Here’s the point: We live in a divided world. It’s chopped up every which way, from language barriers to national borders to ideological chasms the size of the Grand Canyon. And it all started at Babel. It all goes back to sin. We were united, and in that unity, we turned against God, so he had to do something about it. And ever since then, that unity has been broken.

None of us is immune to the brokenness brought into the world by sin. We’re all victims of it. But we aren’t just victims; sometimes, we’re perpetrators. And when we choose to participate in the disunity of the world by disregarding, devaluing, and downright hating those who aren’t like us, we’re making the world a little more broken. We’re making life harder for others. And we’re selling ourselves and those around us short.

The divisions we see in the world today are the result of sin. We all like to see ourselves as the righteous heroes of our own stories, but the truth is that we’ve all contributed to the brokenness. It’s a cycle that started long before we came along. We’re just a part of it, more often willingly than not. It’s a simple fact that the world is a divided place. The unity that God intended for us to have is broken.

I’m sorry to finish on such a bummer note, but that’s the end of my reflection on this week’s story. Babel is scary place to be, and it’s infected the entire world around us. But just so I don’t leave you feeling too hopeless between now and next Tuesday, I’ll give you a little hint of what’s to come: We broke our unity, but God never leaves us in a broken place. Next week, we’ll be looking at the story of Pentecost in Acts 2 and how God sometimes gives us glimpses of the unity he wants for us. Hope to see you then!

Unity and Language: An Introduction

Language is a powerful thing. It has the ability to create and to destroy. While a kind word can heal a wound, a harsh word can open one up. We’ve all experienced the way the words of others can affect us, whether positively or negatively, and the way we can affect others when we speak, sometimes without even meaning to.

In fact, language is central to the human experience. After all, it’s what sets us apart from other animals. Sure, they may be able to communicate simple information to one another, but only we humans can use words to create dialogue, to craft stories, and to compel others with our (sometimes) well thought-out arguments. As Jonathan Merritt puts it in his book Learning to Speak God from Scratch, “We are word-shaped beings who live word-shaped lives within word-shaped communities. This, it seems, is by design.”

We get our propensity for speaking from God himself. The very first verses of the Bible tell us that the universe was created when the Lord spoke it into existence. He said, “Let it be,” and it was so. And when he said, “Let us make humanity in our image,” he spoke us into existence with that same ability to speak and to impact the world through the words that we say.

Scripture is full of stories that illustrate the role of language in shaping the world. Throughout history, God has used prophets, authors, poets, and preachers to get his message out there. Moses transcribed the law. David composed psalms of praise and lament. Jesus delivered sermons on mountaintops and the decks of ships. Paul penned letters from prison. And all of these words have been passed down for centuries to shape the lives of those who serve God.

One very interesting aspect of language is its ability to unite or divide us. A simple word or phrase can let us know more about a person than anything else. The way someone speaks can tell us where they’re from, how old they are, and so much more. Language lets us know who is like us and who isn’t, who we’re able to interact with and who we aren’t, and who we want to be around. It is an instant identifier.

Have you ever been to a place where you didn’t speak the language? Maybe you went to another country or to a place of business where the staff communicates differently, or maybe you just visited a family down the street who speaks another language at home. You can hear people talking around you, but it doesn’t make any sense. It all sounds like gibberish. Clearly they understand what they’re saying to each other, but you’re left in the dark. It can feel very isolating, can’t it?

I feel that way sometimes when I hang out with people at my church. We have a lot of very handy people there, and when they talk about their projects, they start using jargon that is completely foreign to me. I hear them say things like “quarter-inch drill bit,” and I know they’re speaking English, but it doesn’t sound like it to me. They start talking about two-by-fours and four-by-fours, and suddenly, I’m completely lost.

Here’s what I mean: Language can bring people together, or it can push them apart. When someone starts talking about a topic or hobby that you’re fond of, you instantly feel a connection with them. When you’re in an unfamiliar place and you hear someone speaking your language, you perk up because you know that’s someone you can communicate with. Connecting with someone over common language can be like a breath of fresh air, while being unable to connect with others can make you feel like the wind's been knocked out of you.

Over the next few weeks, we’re going to look at stories from the Bible that touch on language and its power to unify and divide us. In reading scripture, we see both sides of the coin: the way that language can be a force for good and the way that we can use it to destroy others. The choice is really up to us, and we’ll see that throughout this series.

Really, these stories are using language as a metaphor for the connection, the oneness, and the unity we feel with our fellow human beings. We put a lot of stake in language and what it reveals to us about the people around us. And scripture actually has a lot to say about that.

I don’t know about you, but I’m excited to dive into it! So come back next week for the first story. (And if you’re one of those people who likes to read again, give Genesis 11.1-9 a look this week.) I’ll see you then. Thank you for reading, friends!

The Best Gift

The new year is in full swing, and Christmas 2018 already feels like a distant memory. It was certainly one to remember, though. For me and Katherine, it was our first Christmas as a married couple, as well as our first Christmas in our new house. In the midst of our attempts to celebrate with each and every one of our loved ones, we took a little time just to ourselves on Christmas morning to enjoy one another and, of course, to exchange gifts.

To me, the perfect gift exists at the intersection of two categories: (1) things I really like and (2) things I would never buy for myself. Any item that checks both of those boxes is sure to inspire delight when I open it. I’m happy to report that my wife did an exceptional job of finding gifts that fell into those categories this year. Among other things, she gave me two smart light switches for our house.

You might be thinking, “That sounds like the nerdiest gift in the world,” and you would be correct. It is the nerdiest gift in the world! But to be honest, there’s nothing I could have wanted more. Ever since we started building the house, Katherine has had to patiently endure my rants and daydreams about turning it into a smart house, one we can automate and control with our voices. As you can imagine, overpriced wifi-enabled appliances are not at the top of our priority list right now, so when I unwrapped them on Christmas morning, I beamed like a child who had just opened a new toy.

I thought I had just received the greatest gift in the world. And it was awesome, to be sure. I would soon learn, though, that there is a gift greater than a smart switch, even for someone like me.

After a few days of gathering supplies for the project, I set to work on installing my brand new smart switches. I decided to put them out in the garage so that I could automate our garage lights to come on at sunset. That way, we’d never come home to a dark house. I put on my headlamp and grabbed my trusty drill (both gifts, by the way), and I got to work.

It may seem silly, but it’s hard to express the joy I felt while undergoing that project. Taking apart a piece of the house—our house—in order to understand it and make it better felt so satisfying. When I put it all back together, there was that moment of truth when I found out if my work had paid off. I flipped the breaker on, tapped the switch, and the light worked. I was overjoyed! I ran inside to tell my wife the good news and to show her the fact that I could now control our garage lights with Siri. Like I said, it sounds ridiculous from the outside, but from my point-of-view, it was exhilarating.

Using my own hands, tools, and skills, I was able to take our home and improve it. I was able to leave my mark on it in a way that I can see each and every day. I was able to enjoy the fruit of my labor in a simple light bulb being lit. And when it was all said and done, I was able to be proud of the work I’d done to make my home a better place for my family.

As happy as the gadgets made me on Christmas morning, nothing can replace the feeling I got from actually putting them to use, seeing the effect they had, and knowing that I had made it happen. I like to think that when my wife wrapped those boxes, she knew she wasn’t just giving me a new toy; she was giving me an opportunity to do something truly productive and feel accomplished in that. And that really is the best gift she could have given me.

Often, we focus on providing our friends, family members, and loved ones with the things they want rather than the things that truly feed their souls. Material gifts are nice and can be very meaningful. I would never try to discount them. But they’re not the most important things in life, and they’re not the best gifts we can give.

Accomplishment. Fulfillment. Encouragement. These are the greatest gifts that we can give one another, and we can do so in the most creative of ways. Maybe it comes disguised as a nerdy gadget, or maybe it’s as simple as a kind word. Only you can look past the surface and see what might touch someone you love. But take it from someone who’s recently been on the receiving end of such a gift: There truly is no better way to show someone you care.

I’m so thankful for the amazing gift that was given to me, and it is my goal to share the same sorts of gifts with my loved ones. Because we can all do something to encourage and enrich those around us today. Everyone enjoys a gift like that. How can you share one today?

Yesterday’s Mysteries, Today’s Normal

I’ll never forget the first time I hooked up a DVD player. It may seem cheesy, but it really was a rite of passage for me, and not just because of my interest in technology. All of my life, my parents had been the ones to set up every gadget that came into our house. They’d connect all the cables, set the TV to the right channel (Was it three or four?), and presto! It worked. To me, it was confusing magic, and I never imagined that I’d be able to master it myself.

Then one day when I was around ten, my family purchased a new DVD player that I wanted to use. Maybe my parents were busy or maybe my curiosity just got the better of me. I’m honestly not sure why I did it, but I opened up the box and started taking things out, piece by piece. Before I knew it, I was plugging the red, white, and yellow cables into their ports, connecting the power, and turning on the TV. Then… presto! Suddenly, the magic was mine to wield.

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Sitting in the back of her minivan as a child, I never really considered how my mom always knew exactly where to go. Whether it was somewhere we went regularly or a place she’d never been to before, she always seemed to know how to get there. I’m not directionally inclined, so I didn’t pay much attention. I would buckle in and start playing a video game or reading until the vehicle came to a stop and it was time to get out. I assumed that my mother, like other adults, just knew where everything was somehow, and that was that.

But when I started driving myself, that naive assumption was immediately shattered. Once it became my job to navigate, it became clear that there is no secret knowledge. Adults don’t magically know where everything is. Rather, we rely on previous knowledge, context clues, and resources like GPS to figure out where we’re going. Add a bit of luck to the mix, and we might just get there safely.

These days, I’m the adult driving my nephew around. As I use whatever means necessary to ensure that we get where we’re going, he sits in the back seat, trusting that I somehow know what I’m doing. He’s in for a big surprise one day when he get his license. But until then, I think I’ll just let him share in the facade that I once believed in.

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Only this year did I get the full experience of what it’s like to own a Christmas tree. Sure, I’ve helped decorate before, but it’s never been my job to make sure that everything looks nice, is taken care of, and gets put away neatly for next year. For me, that’s always been the responsibility of others and, thus, a mystery.

But not this year. Katherine and I are living in our own house now, which means no one else is going to put up a tree for us. So we shopped, we unpacked, and we decorated. And last week, while Katherine was working and my office was still closed for the holidays, I took a Christmas tree down for the first time in my life.

It wasn’t particularly difficult, but it was new. I started with the ornaments, placing them carefully back into their boxes. Then I unwound the strands of tinsel and lights and put them away. And finally, I took the tree apart and stuffed it as gracefully as I could back into the box. A little bit of vacuuming later, I was done.

And as I looked over my work, I felt something I didn’t expect: I was proud of myself. Like I said, taking the tree down wasn’t hard. It didn’t even take as long as I had expected. But it was one of those things I had never done before, one of those things I associated with being an “adult,” one of those things that was a mystery to me until I actually tried it myself. And once I did, I found myself fully capable of handling it.

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Much of what we adults do on a day-to-day basis are things that we could hardly fathom doing as children: cooking, cleaning, working, driving, and the like. They seem so mundane to us now, but not too long ago, they were mysterious. Difficult. Magical, even. And now, they’re just part of our everyday lives.

I’m not saying that we deserve an award for being functional human beings, but maybe we should give ourselves a little more credit. What’s normal for us today was difficult yesterday. Our baseline now is what we pretended to be and strove for when we were younger. The skills we’ve accumulated and the things we’ve accomplished may not seem out of the ordinary, but they are significant. They matter. And we have every right to be proud of them.

You may not be exactly where you want to be, but you’ve come a long way. And if you play your cards right, you’ll be able to look back soon and see even more progress that’s been made. It all starts with recognizing where you are, giving yourself credit for what you’ve accomplished, and building on that success. It’s there if you’ll just look for it. And once you find it, you can use it as a building block towards where you want to go.

So pat yourself on the back from time to time, even if it’s just for something small. That small thing used to be a big thing, and now you’re ready to take on something new. You’ve got this. You’ve come so far. And only you can determine how much further you’ll go.

God bless, friends. Here’s to more mysteries mastered in 2019.

Busyness

At this point, it’s old news that we’re too busy. Our schedules have become so saturated by our responsibilities, commitments, expectations, and plans that we simply don’t have time for anything else. There are only 24 hours in each day, and we fill every single one of them to the brim.

This overcommitment isn’t without consequence. Sleep deprivation is on the rise. (Though if you’re looking for a sound investment, melatonin sales are through the roof.) Stress and anxiety are now baseline parts of life rather than sporadic occurrences. And trying to plan any sort of meaningful time with loved ones is a chore that will drive one to their wits’ end.

Never is our culture’s obsession with being busy more apparent than during the holiday season. We’re rushing from one party to another, stopping in-between to pick up gifts for every person we’ve ever met, trying desperately not to miss a single event or program. From Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day, life is an absolute blur. If you blink, you’ll miss it completely. But again, I’m not telling you anything new.

I’m beginning to give up on the fight against busyness, at least during this time of year. I do my best, but even my time management skills are no match for the constant societal pressure I feel to be constantly go-go-going. Besides, there are too many people I want to see and too many things I want to do. The temptation to never ever stop is real, and I’m not always the best at fighting it.

But not all is lost. I’ve learned that even if I can’t stop being busy all the time, I can at least be selective about what I’m busy doing. If I’m going to be constantly doing things, then they better be the things that matter to me the most. Otherwise, what’s the point in being busy at all?

Prioritization is a difficult skill to learn, but I’m starting to think it’s the key to navigating this tireless world we live in. If we’re going to make our lives meaningful in the midst of all of the stress, noise, and busyness, then we have to know what matters to us, and we have to put those things first. This takes practice. It takes focus. It takes discipline. But it’s doable, and it’s worth it.

It will look different for different people. For some, it may mean literally making an ordered list of the people and things that matter most and then referring to that list when deciding what to commit to. For me, it’s more about learning to say no to the things that aren’t important enough. That may sound cold, but the truth is that if we simply say yes to everything, there eventually won’t be enough room for it all. And if we’re not careful, the most important things may fall through the cracks.

So yes, I’m extremely busy this time of year, just as I’m sure you are. I haven’t figured out how not to be busy yet, but if I do, I promise to write an article about it. In the meantime, I’m practicing discernment in how I choose to be busy in hopes that I can make my busyness mean something. I’d encourage you to do the same so that we can all make this time of year something special for ourselves and those we love.