How Do We Overcome "A Failure to Communicate"?

"What we have here, is a failure to communicate." Remember that classic line from "Cool Hand Luke"? Actually, when I survey the turmoil among nations, I am drawn to the conclusion that what we have here, in the mess of international relations and warfare, comes down to a failure to communicate. And we have no one to blame but ourselves.

There was a time when men had no trouble understanding one another, when all humanity was one big family, so to speak. The trouble was, our ancestors were so successful in communicating and working together that they thought they might be able to dispense with God, or at least, climb to a place where they could be on a level with God. So they set about building a tower. A big tower. A tower that would have its top in the heavens. Now, a tower than big would be hard to miss, and God himself saw what was up, and put an end to the construction project, and human beings' ability to communicate effectively among themselves. And the face of the earth has been covered with a lot of confused and angry people failing to communicate ever since. We just don't understand one another, can't see eye to eye, if you will. And this had led, and continues to lead, to all kinds of problems, big and small, between neighbors and nations.

I wonder, what language did our ancestors speak pre-Tower of Babel? Was it any language of man, or could it perhaps have been the language of angels, if you will? Might it be a language we will one day speak again in heaven? Idle thoughts, I suppose, but then, this is just a blog.

The other thing I think about related to this whole failure to communicate problem, is if there is any possibility of overcoming it this side of eternity? I am not suggesting that, like the movement towards one world-wide currency, there be a push to re-establish one language for every nation and people. But what if there were words, a book even, that, regardless of what language it were translated into, it said the same thing to everyone? Hmm, there might be some hope in that. And what do you know, I believe that book already exists, and it has been overcoming lots of communication failures and bring peace on earth to a lot of folks for nearly two thousand years. I must also admit, that men have taken the book and manipulated its words to serve personal, racial, national, and ideological ambitions, rather than the will of its author. But the book itself, its every word, has the potential to re-establish a blessed communication among men. And, believing in this potential of the book, I think I'll go and study by Bible some more.