Building in Vain

Building in Vain

Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the LORD guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.
Psalm 127:1

Recommended Reading
Daniel 4:28-32

Currently, the tallest man-made structure in the world (and the tallest ever built) is the Burj Khalifa, also known as the Dubai Tower. Located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, the skyscraper took six years to complete, opening on January 4, 2010. It is 2,717 feet high, contains five million square feet of floor space, and cost $1.5 billion. By comparison, Babylonian towers (ziggurats) like the tower of Babel were probably not much more than 100 feet tall.

One hundred feet doesn't reach to heaven--and neither does 2,717 feet. There is no evidence that the Dubai tower owners were trying to reach to heaven, but the Babylonian builders of the Tower of Babel sure were--by their own admission (Genesis 11:4). There is nothing sinful about building a tall tower unless pride and arrogance are its foundation. And there are plenty of "towers" we try to build in our lives for those wrong reasons. God always supports that which is built to honor Him, but opposes what seeks to replace Him.

Take stock of the life you are building. Unless the Lord builds it, it is built in vain.

There is no spirit in man more opposed to the Spirit of God than the spirit of pride.
John Blanchar