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We can often think that the notorious Tower of Babel (our passage for this week) is an origin story for languages (Genesis 11:11, 9), which God resolves when the Spirit brings a common understanding at Pentecost (Acts 2:6). Despite the clear reference to language and clear connection to Pentecost, the story of Babel is about more than the unity that can come from communication; it’s about what that unity leads to: human ingenuity (technology) as a substitute for God.

The people who migrate to the plain of Shinar have discovered a new technology, the fired brick (11:3), which enables them to build a tower into the heavens. On the surface it looks like they want to reach up to God—though on their own terms! More likely they are reaching for his place; they want their name to be great and displayed in the heavens (11:4).

In other words, the powers of humanity are being exalted above (or perhaps in front of) God, embodied in their technological breakthrough. To live and be involved in Babel is to be surrounded by a constant and deliberate reminder of human greatness. Technology is never neutral; it always carries a particular view of the world.

Consider our technologies. They typically embody the principle of speed—googling it is no longer quick enough; Google AI it; rather than taking an hour to listen to an hour of conversation, put it on 2x speed and hear twice as much or listen in half the time.

What view of the world does this principle and these products embody? At the very least, they say productivity and efficiency are king. Life is about achieving more, faster. Is it any wonder why we feel like we can’t keep up or can’t get enough done?

How might this shape us and the way we relate to the world and people around us? At what point will I start to view people or situations through the lens of productivity and efficiency?

For example, it’s fascinating (and devastating) for me to notice parents at the park with their toddlers. Exhausted, bleary-eyed, but I’m here with my kid—except I’m not! My body is, but my mind is elsewhere, transported to another world or perhaps just work through a little screen. This incredibly powerful tool of connection has disconnected me from the world around me and the very person I came to be with. There’s even evidence of how the mother-child bond is being negatively affected by these digital distractions! Yet what do I usually reach for after 30 seconds after thinking all this? Game-set-match, iPhone. And we could repeat this story in various places and many relationships.

How might this also affect us in our walk with God? At what point do we view the means of grace he gives us to commune with him and grow—prayer, time in the word, his people, acts of service—through the lens of productivity and efficiency?

For example, prayer and the word can move from a rich, slow and patient communion with God to simply trying to get the right answer to sharpen our bible knowledge. At this point, why would I not just use ChatGPT to give me the right answer? Or why would we persevere in prayer at all, when time-acting will probably get me the result I need faster? Or why would I spend the slow, sometimes frustrating time building relationships and learning to talk to and serve one another when I can growth-hack my spiritual life, or simply get the thing I came for from church and leave?

Babel calls us to think very carefully about the technologies that permeate our life and their implications for our walk of faith. This is not simply: tech = bad, primitive = good. We’re too embedded for that. We need to do our banking, spreadsheets, sudokus, and everything else!

But we are called to be faithful amongst this embedding (1 Peter 1:17, 2:11-13). While we shouldn’t necessarily tap out of it all, neither should we just let our lives and attention be governed by them all.

What we need is thoughtful resistance. Choosing to walk God’s way, even—or especially—when it feels inefficient and unproductive, trusting that God will achieve his purposes in his time.

What could this look like for you, your household or your family?

  • Perhaps a digital Sabbath for a section of each day or once a week, not least on the Lord’s Day, in order to give our attention towards the Lord, his word and one another?

  • Perhaps also fostering embodied fun away from those screens, learning to be grateful for the bodies God gives and the relationships we belong to.

  • Perhaps learning to unwind the efficiency/productivity paradigm and treat our bosses, our colleagues or our employees in more humanising ways. Perhaps even asking for human work rather than AI-generated work.

  • Perhaps consuming less with greater thoughtfulness, at 1x speed, but attending to it with double the attention, so that we don’t just pump information in but form our minds to be discerning and wise, like Christ.

  • Or maybe simply recommitting to being constant in prayer (Col 4:2), relearning how to pray always and often, and how to pray long, wide, Bible-saturated prayer, and to keep doing it when the to-do list threatens, and my mind wanders, and it feels utterly inefficient and useless—but perhaps that’s the point, for then we are calling on the name of the Lord (Gen 4:26) and not the name of humanity.

You might like to think further about this. Moore College has a three-part podcast series delving into the smartphone. Why don’t you have a listen (at 1x speed!).