A Blessing in Diversity

As people read (or hear) the account of the Tower of Babel found in Genesis 11 they usually come to the following conclusion: "God punishes the people for building a tower in defiance of Him." His penalties were (1) confounding their common language and (2) scattering them abroad from thence (the location of the construction of the tower) upon the face of all the earth. What many people do not glean from this story is the blessing God gave man in all this. I would suggest that these “punishments” were also a blessing.

The scene sounds chaotic and, if one were to put himself in the “sandals” of one of these men, women, boys, or girls, the experience must have been something very dreadful. However, in all this chaos and calamity people, lost and desperate though they seemed at the time, managed. And, whether the language was altered from the original tongue drastically or only slightly, God started one of the greatest masterpieces the world has ever known.

If one were to travel across the globe today he would find himself in a bit of a tough situation when it comes to language. He might become fluent in a language before unknown to him, and then decide that he is equipped to travel in a certain country. Alas, as he moved throughout different regions he might find it very difficult to communicate his needs or questions well. Today, in addition to the diversity of languages among the countries, there is a great distinction among dialects spoken in various regions within a country.

While there might be some kind of common ground in languages such as English, Chinese, and Spanish, there are still subtle and extreme differences within each of these languages. Our traveler might find this to be an inconvenience. What is it really?

Such variety of languages in different regions should not be seen as a hindrance, but as something beautiful. The dialects contain the blessing of unique culture. They contain the same kind of expression that one can see rendered in art. For truly God has done great wonders in this; that He has taken but one language and has created a masterpiece that is the fascinating collage and network of modern language.

Written by Michael Murphy. Mr. Murphy graduated from OHCS in the first graduating class. He now teaches Latin to elementary and junior high students and English to foreign students at Oak Hill.