“They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar.  Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise, we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”

(Genesis 11:3-4, NIV)

     Testing limits. It’s what we do. Just watch a child who’s told he can have only one cookie, when two cookies have been placed on the table.

     Pushing beyond the margins is not a new behavior for the human race. This pattern of disobedience goes back to a piece of fruit on a tree the first couple was told not to eat. We are boundary breakers. We travel sixty in a forty-five-mile an-hour speed zone. We make fourteen purchases in a twelve-item or less check-out line.

     The writer of Genesis records one instance in which the people of earth made a communal decision to break the limits of immortality. Making a name for yourself is another way of assuming divine status. Yet God makes the repeated claim throughout the Scriptures that there is only room for one, true God and we are not Him.

     Of course, some limits are set to be broken. All of us should strive to push the edges of our abilities. Such quests induce the ambition of athletes to test their physical capabilities to maximum capacity. Becoming the best version of ourselves is an honorable, if not a God-honoring, pursuit.

     However, being your best self and doing what best suits you are markedly different objectives. The first is a noble striving toward excellence. The latter is an inverted step toward selfishness.

     Every day, we make decisions that fall into one of these two categories. The challenge becomes which of these two options we will choose. As with many opportunities in life, the choice is ours to make.

     My prayer is that you will choose wisely.