Aiming high and falling low (Proverbs 25:6-7; Luke 14:1, 7-14)
Proverbs warns us against the culture of self-aggrandizement.
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Of the many sins of the builders of Babel, one of the most egregious is also one of the least remarked upon: they build the city, and the tower within it, in hopes of “making a name for [them]selves” (Genesis 11:4). Like many real estate tycoons in our own time, these primordial builders wish to have standing and be famous. But God, as we know, will have none of it. God confounds their speech so that they cannot understand one another and cannot bring their plans to fruition. And then God disperses them.
