AudioEveryone, it seems, has an opinion these days of what is needed to make our world a better place. Perhaps what we need is a more perfect environment? Maybe changes in the educational system will help us? Perhaps a coming together of the nations under some new system of cooperation and alliance will rid the world of its troubles? However, as Donald Grey Barnhouse wrote in the middle of the last century, “God has tested man under every conceivable condition and found him wanting.”[1] We must remember that human history began in the perfect environment of Eden, and even there, man still rebelled against God. It is hard to imagine a more complete education than Adam had,  yet man’s state only spiraled in decline. And we come to this scene on the plains of Shinar where the whole of humanity coexisted together in a singular community with one government and one language, only to find that even under these conditions, humanity strived for greatness and sank into an even deeper level of rebellion.In these verses, we see a true picture of man at his best and worst. As a result of the divine image in which man was created, he is capable of extraordinary things! But because that image has been marred by human sinfulness, those capacities are extraordinarily corrupted. As man exercises these capacities in the world, God observes and intervenes in such a way that nothing thwarts His sovereign plan for the world and for the people who bear His image. It was true in the days of Genesis 11, and it is still true for individuals, for nations, and even for churches. Therefore, while this text explains how the planet came to be filled with such a diverse population of humanity, it does more than this. It speaks to us even now of mankind at our best and at our worst. As we dive into our text, we will observe first of all … I. The Industrious Resourcefulness of ManOne of my earliest memories of childhood is sitting on my father’s lap as he read to me the story of the Little Engine That Could. You remember that story. The little train comes to a seemingly insurmountable hill and says to himself, “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.” And he did it! Parents and teachers often shower this kind of encouragement on young people. “You can be whatever you want to be.” “You can do whatever you put your mind to.” “If you can dream it, you can do it.” And we find that it is often true. Human beings have been created with amazing potential and capabilities to be, to do, and to make. We see this industrious resourcefulness of humanity on display with the people of our story in Genesis 11. By God’s design, they had all they needed to do great things. They had the gift of communication. Verse 1 says that “the whole earth used the same language and the same words.” You will recall from the creation account that of all that God made, only mankind was blessed with the ability to speak. Because God is a speaking God, those who were made in His image were blessed with the gift of speech that they might live in communion with Him and with one another. Because every person on the earth after the flood descended from the sons of Noah, it is not surprising that they were bound together by a common language. With that ability to communicate, there was no limit to the plans that could be conspired and carried out by men and women. We also observe that human beings had the gift of creativity. Just as we speak because God speaks, so also we create because God creates. Creativity is part of His image within us. We do not create in the same sense that God creates, for in His infinite and omnipotent nature He is able to create something from nothing. Yet, man has the unique ability to take of what God has created, and create something fresh and new with it as we carry out our God-given commission to exercise dominion in the world. Francis Schaeffer observed, “We never find an animal … making a work of art. On the other hand,