LET'S GO THERE | WEEK 1
"In Claude We Trust"
Pastor Rory Chance
In Claude We Trust
“Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves.” —Genesis 11:4
Have you ever tried to see clearly through two lenses at once? It doesn’t work. Everything stays blurry, no matter how hard you squint. Yet that’s how many Christians try to live. We say we believe Scripture, but we’re also being discipled by the world.
That’s why this month we’re starting a new series, Let’s Go There. We’ll look at some of the blurriest issues of our day through the lens of God’s Word. Scripture says the enemy has “blinded the minds of unbelievers” (2 Corinthians 4:4). The word paints a picture of smoke. He doesn’t take away our sight; he fills the world with haze. But “the unfolding of your words gives light” (Psalm 119:130).
We start with one of the biggest changes of our lifetime: artificial intelligence. AI is advancing faster than most of us can keep up with. It raises real questions about our jobs, our humanity, and what’s even real. How we respond to changes like this reveals what we really believe, because more information doesn’t mean more formation.
To help us think clearly, we go back to an old story that is still surprisingly relevant: the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11.
See the Tool for What It Is
After the flood, God told humanity to fill the earth. Instead, they settled on the plain of Shinar and found a breakthrough: bricks burned hard and sealed with tar. In a place with little stone, this new technology let them build bigger, stronger and higher than ever before.
The tar idea came from the ark, where God told Noah to seal it the same way. Now people took God’s idea, paired it with new technology, and built a tower to resist the very God who had sent the flood. It was the sum of human effort and wisdom, aimed at an easier life outside of God’s will.
Check What You’re Building
“Let us make a name for ourselves.” The real danger at Babel wasn’t the brick; it was pride. Humanity tried to secure its own significance, security and future apart from God. The tower was an altar to self-sufficiency.
God doesn’t condemn bricks. The same bricks built homes, city walls and storehouses. But God is against anything that makes Him feel unnecessary in our lives. Technology isn’t evil in itself; the human heart is the problem.
How we use what is in our hands always reveals what lives in our hearts. A hammer can build up or tear down. A phone can spread gossip or encouragement. Social media can connect us or make us compare. AI can make us efficient, or it can make us feel self-sufficient. So the question is: what am I using my bricks to build?
Remember Where Pride Leads
At Babel, one shared language was the secret to their success. Today’s AI runs on “large language models” trained on enormous amounts of human language. In a sense, it’s an attempt to undo what happened at Babel.
But God confused their language and scattered them. Pride always promises a better life, and it always ends in confusion and isolation. We’ve seen it again and again. Social media promised connection, and we feel more alone. Smartphones promised free time, and now we’re never off. Search engines promised we’d know more, and we remember less. Filters promised our best selves, and we live in the shadow of comparison.
Wisely Redeem It
We’re living in a Tower of Babel moment. We have more tools in our hands than any generation before us. So how do we respond?
Some openly receive it, with no questions and no boundaries, until technology isn’t serving them; they’re serving it. Others flatly reject it. That feels safe, but it never teaches discernment, and it doesn’t fix the heart. There’s a better way: wisely redeem it.
- Recognize the danger. Technology is designed to keep us coming back and to put us at the center of our world.
- Rethink how you use it. Is it helping you walk toward God’s will or away from it?
- Refuse to let it take the place of God. Don’t make it the first place you turn when you feel afraid or frustrated.
Trust the One Who Came Down
The builders of Babel tried to use their knowledge and ability to make a way to heaven. It left them scattered, confused and alone. Many of us make the same mistake today, chasing the next piece of information that will finally fix us. It’s spiritually exhausting being your own answer.
There are two ways to live. We can trust in our own ability to climb up to heaven, or we can trust the One who came down from heaven to bring us into relationship with Him.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” —Proverbs 3:5–6
The answer has always been Jesus. Not more information. Not more understanding. Jesus. You don’t have to climb up to heaven, because heaven came down for you.
The bricks are in your hands. What will you build with them?
