Ambition And Pride
BRD REFLECTION 2026
Genesis 11 and Psalm 75 (NIV)
(Daniel Tong from Small Group Ministry)
READ:
Genesis 11:1-9, focusing on verses 4, 6, 7 and 8:
“4 And they said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let’s make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of all the earth.”
6 And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they have started to do, and now nothing which they plan to do will be impossible for them.
“7 Come, let Us go down and confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.”
8 So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth; and they stopped building the city.
OBSERVE:
Genesis 11:1-9 recounts a time after the Great Flood, when the people were speaking the same language and living together as one united people — until ambition and pride disrupted that unity. The story of the tower of Babel is not new to many of us; for me it is a reminder of how easy it is to allow ungodly ambition and pride to dictate our actions where God is not at the centre of our lives. This can be seen in the people’s motivation ‘to make a name for ourselves’ by building a city and ‘a tower whose top would reach into heaven’; this led to God’s intervention to ‘confuse their language’ and scatter them over the face of the earth.
The people knew the consequences of their actions, and yet persisted to avoid being scattered (v4). But despite their efforts, God’s will prevailed — they were scattered just as they had feared (v8).
APPLY:
It is a reminder not to let these ungodly tendencies, which seek to glorify self, become the motivation for what I do in the marketplace or in ministry. It is sometimes easy to be blinded by ambition to make a name for myself which could lead me to make poor choices with clear consequences.
DO:
Keep God at the centre of all I do, remembering that I am not my own. Walk closely with Him and ask for wisdom to make the right choices and stay aware that my choices have consequences.
PRAY:
Dear God, forgive me for the times I have allowed selfish ambition and pride to drive my actions. Keep my heart close to Thee and grant me wisdom to make the right choice.
