One of the largest real estate ventures in human history came to a halt last month as Dubai, a desert metropolis in the United Arab Emirates, announced it was unable to make payments on nearly $60 billion in loans. The Palm Islands are being touted as the most exciting project on earth: man-made island communities created off the shores of Dubai with tons of sand fill. Notably, another major Dubai real estate project is the completion of the world’s tallest tower—the centerpiece of the desert city that will include 30,000 homes, 9 hotels, 3 parks, 19 residential towers, and a 12-acre artificial lake. With the threat of the global depression on the horizon, the tallest building in the world may be an empty shell, and what was intended to be a monument to the creative genius of mankind now appears to be another Titanic—a monument to man’s pride and failure.
In the Garden, God gave Adam the mandate to “to rule and subdue the earth” (Gen. 1:28). After the Fall, the desire to “rule and subdue” turned inward—man seeking to establish his own greatness. Early in man’s history, this desire to ‘rule and subdue’ was manifested in building the tower of Babel—“Let us make a name for ourselves,” they said (Genesis 11:4). But God “cancelled” their building project through the confusion of languages. And the unfinished tower stood as a monument to their sinful pride.
The Dubai project and the pursuit of prosperity is evidence that this same spirit of pride is active today. And when I think of the multi-million dollar church projects, e.g., Cathedral of Faith in southern California and Lakewood Church, housed in Houston's Compaq Center, I wonder how much of that spirit may be contaminating the church growth movement today. Maybe God is speaking through the failed Dubai project that we should be wary of the spirit called “let us make a name for ourselves,” and reminding us that He “is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble" (James 4:6).
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