“Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the earth.”

Professional baseball payer Matt Diaz remembers a time in the minor leagues when he stepped into the batters box to face one of the major league premiere pitchers. This pitcher was doing his last rehab start before returning to the majors.

In the locker room prior to the game he expressed a belief that he could get a hit off him.” As he stepped into the batters box having watched the three of the previous batters strike out and the fourth get nailed with a fast ball in the back the umpire asked, “Think you can hit him?”

It was at this point that his belief was called to act.

I share this story because confirmation is the point in your life when your belief is called to act.

We have listened to the young men and women of the confirmation class express their present beliefs concerning God and their responsibilities as believers in Jesus Christ. Why is it that you believe? Do you believe in Jesus because heaven sounds a lot better than hell? Do you believe in Him in your head, because you have researched His existence? Do you believe to reflect Him and His teaching in your actions?

Our scripture story this morning about the Tower of Babel identifies the choice that you and I have made and will make many times in life. The choice we have is to be self-reliant or God-reliant.

“Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the earth.”

The tower of Babel was a great human achievement, a wonder of the world. But it was a monument to the people themselves rather than to God. We may build monuments to ourselves, expensive clothes, big houses, fancy car, or an important job to call attention to our achievements. These may not be wrong in themselves, but when we use them to give us identity and self-worth they take God’s place in our lives. We are free to develop in many areas but we are not free to think we have replaced God.

The tower was a monument of self-reliance intended to make a name for the people. The phrase “let us” shows up three times in this passage. It screams of independence and egocentrism. Unfortunately in the culture we live in self-dependence, while hardly a sin, is seen as a virtue. We rely on Yankee ingenuity. We praise self-made men.

The vows we have made today while confirming our nine youths confirm that we don’t believe in self-reliance. Confirmation is not about making a name for yourself. It is not about building a life of self-reliance and glorification. Confirmation is about making a name for God. It is about building a life of reliance on God.

Today, your beliefs and mine are being called to act. If you don’t then all we have said and done here in the presence of God is for naught.