“For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind.” – James 3:16 NLT
Everywhere we look, the world pressures us to make a name for ourselves. In our careers, through media, and even in ministry, we are tempted by the same quiet questions: How can I be known? How can I build influence? How can I get the glory?
At its core, this drive is rooted in selfish ambition—a trap James warns leads directly to disorder and evil of every kind. But this longing for self-glory isn’t new. Since the beginning of time, humanity has fought this same battle. In Genesis, we see this exact ambition unfold through a group of people desperate to build a legacy of their own.
Building for Their Own Glory
At one time all the people of the world spoke the same language and used the same words. As the people migrated to the east, they found a plain in the land of Babylonia and settled there.They began saying to each other, “Let’s make bricks and harden them with fire.” (In this region bricks were used instead of stone, and tar was used for mortar.) Then they said, “Come, let’s build a great city for ourselves with a tower that reaches into the sky. This will make us famous and keep us from being scattered all over the world.”- Genesis 11:1-4 NLT
The Result
But the Lord came down to look at the city and the tower the people were building. “Look!” he said. “The people are united, and they all speak the same language. After this, nothing they set out to do will be impossible for them! Come, let’s go down and confuse the people with different languages. Then they won’t be able to understand each other.”
In that way, the Lord scattered them all over the world, and they stopped building the city. That is why the city was called Babel, because that is where the Lord confused the people with different languages. In this way he scattered them all over the world. – Genesis 11:5-9 NLT
Building for God’s Glory
(full passage Nehemiah 1-6)
In another Bible passage, we meet Nehemiah. His family had been taken captive and his family had not gone back to Jerusalem in the first two waves of returnees. When he heard about the broken down walls of Jerusalem, he felt deep sorrow.
- A city without a wall meant no security
- The state of the wall was a source of “disgrace” from their neighbors for God.
Nehemiah was so grieved by the state of the broken down walls that he began praying. He prayed for months bringing his concerns to the Lord before an opportunity arose for him to go back and start the rebuilding work!
Nehemiah’s intention differed in that his desire to rebuild the walls was to bring God glory.
Even when faced with opposition, weariness, threats, Nehemiah and his men were able to rebuild the wall in 52 days, because God had established their plans (Nehemiah 6:15-16).
When we live to build for His glory, God strengthens us despite what we may face. After the completion of the wall, Nehemiah says, “When our enemies and surrounding nations heard about it, they were frightened and humiliated. They realized this work had been done with the help of our God. – Nehemiah 6:16 NLT
Final Thoughts
We are reminded in Revelation 4:11, that God alone receives the glory.
“You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.”-Revelation 4:11 NIV
So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. – 1 Corinthians 10:31 NLT
Song
Graceful Strides 