Foundation of org behavior

2.1 Assignment. Devotional- The Good Builder – Part 2

Getting Started

In our last devotional, we examined the opening chapter of the Bible and its presentation of God as builder of the universe and humans as the key “why” for God’s creative acts. Much has happened between Genesis 1 and our passage this week from Genesis 11 as we look at the tower of Babel.

Your devotional reflection for this workshop will help you consider another element of the “why” question – one related to your ultimate objective in life.

Upon successful completion of this assignment, you will be able to:

· Recognize strong leadership skills through leaders in the Bible.

Background Information

Read or  listen(new tab)  to  Genesis 11:1-9(new tab) .

The Biblical narrative between the creation account in Genesis 1 and the tower of Babel account in Genesis 11 includes some well-known stories. Adam and Eve (and all humanity) rebel (sin) against God in chapter 3. Cain kills his brother Abel in chapter 4. The human population grows, but so does human evil, leading to Noah’s story of a judgment flood and an ark of salvation in chapters 5 through 9. I suspect we all would like to know “why these people did what they did” - our fundamental question of organizational behavior as it relates to each of those stories. The opening of the Bible (and the whole Bible!) is a case study in organizational behavior.

The organizational behavior connections continue in Chapter 10 of Genesis as the text describes Noah’s descendants while humanity re-populates the earth after the flood, which leads to the tower of Babel passage. In the opening verses of chapter 11, we find (at least) two problems that eventually lead to God creating the confusion of language.

First, as the population moves east (or expands), humans decide to stop. Note the end of verse 4 that says, so that we will “not be scattered over the face of the earth.” Why is this a problem? God’s original instruction to Adam and Eve is still in effect. Remember what was said near the end of the Genesis 1 passage. “God blessed and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth…” (New International Version Bible, 1973/1984, Genesis 1:28a). Stopping was an act of disobedience. They were supposed to grow and expand. Note the end of the Genesis 11 passage after God creates the language confusion. “From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth” (Genesis 11:9b). God’s acts at Babel push humanity outward to fulfil his original mandate.

Second, stopping the expansion was joined by a another human objective contrary to God’s expectations: “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves” (Genesis 11:4a). While it is likely that they began to build a stepped pyramid (called a Ziggurat) with a sky-colored chapel or shrine at the top to engage in worship (of something or someone, probably other than God), a crucial component is the idea of making a name for themselves. Looking back, again, at the creation account, God had said, “Let us make humans in our image…” (Genesis 1:26a). Although the image of God has very complex meaning, in the ancient near east, the term was used to denote the practice of kings setting up their image (statues, likeness, etc.) in new or conquered lands. In essence, wherever the image of the king could be found, the kingdom existed at that place under the king’s rule. Similarly, humans as the image of God is, in part, meant to convey that wherever humans are found, the kingdom of God exists (or is supposed to!). That is, we represent the name and presence of God. The tower builders are rejecting the idea of representing God (i.e., making His name) and instead are making a name for themselves. Sometimes the answer to why people do what they do are disappointing!

God thwarts the rebellious acts by taking away their ability to communicate clearly with each other, and they are forced to scatter. In a bit of irony, they do make a name for themselves, but the tower of Babel is now associated with human failure not human greatness. They should have stuck to the original plan.

After you have read the passage, consider the following prompts:

1. As you think about your life, consider a different element of your “why?” in life. Is it about you? Or is it about something (or someone) greater? What is the “big why” emerging from your worldview? What is your purpose?

2. As you think about your work as a leader, how does your personal “big why” interact with what you are doing? How you do it? What you are building (or your vision or your plans or…)? What is your organization’s “big why?”

3. If you have a perspective different from a Christian worldview, what does that perspective suggest about the “big why” of life?

4. What are the implications for leaders? What are the implications for organizational behavior (individuals, teams, organizations)?

Instructions

1. Review the rubric to make sure you understand the criteria for earning your grade.

2. Review the  Genesis 11:1-9(new tab)  and prompts provided in the Getting Started and Background sections. 

3. Write a one-half to one-page reflection paper (Word document; @250 words double-spaced = one page) that shares your thoughts/perspectives on the themes of this devotional and submit it using the Assignment submission page by the end of the workshop week. Be sure to apply APA formatting guidelines.