RED TAGGED!

Building inspectors get a bad rap. Where a cop can take away an individual’s freedom, a building inspector can halt a construction project in its tracks. It has never occurred to me to tell a driver during a traffic stop, “Sir, your driving was not up to code.” If the purpose of traffic enforcement is to reduce traffic collisions, then the purpose of a building inspection is to keep structures standing during catastrophes. If you watch news coverage of disasters where safe building standards are non-existent; you can see the consequences. 

Here is a spin on Romans 13: “Let everyone be subject to the Building Inspectors, for there is no Building authority except that which God has established. Building Inspectors that exist have been established by God…For Building Inspectors hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then build according to code and you will be commended. For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for Building Inspectors do not bear the Red Tag for no reason.”

God himself issued the first Red Tag in Genesis 11. The grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Noah shared a common language and speech. They traveled together and set up house on the Plain of Shinar. Someone figured out that bricks were easier to produce then finding and digging up rocks as building materials. Standards fell and tar replaced more stable forms of mortar. Then the pride of ownership got the best of them. Genesis 11:4 “They said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.’”

God delights in the humility of man but opposes the proud. These people did not get it. In fact, they wanted to make a name for themselves and they were willing to take short cuts to do it. Apparently resting on the name of God was not enough. Scripture says that God “came down” to see the city and the tower. He saw that they were, once again, on a path to destruction. He Red Tagged the tower and the city buildings by confusing their language causing them to scatter all over the earth. 

Have you ever experienced a time where there was confusion of purpose? A meeting where people were not getting it and frustration follows? It happens at church, at family gatherings or in the workplace. Things just don't click; decisions are difficult to make and there is no consensus in the group. Sometimes we allow our personal agendas to get in the way of the good that God wants for us. We might be well intentioned but our decision making leads us down the wrong road. Proverbs 19:21 says this, “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”

Here is where I believe God comes alongside. He gives us peers, mentors and pastors to guide us in our churches, our families and at work. He gave us the Holy Bible as a blueprint to know and understand His purposes. He inspects and tests our work, sometimes by fire (literally and through the trials of life) to bring us back to our calling as sons and daughters of Christ. Even the Apostle Paul got a few Red Tags on his missionary journeys: “Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia,having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to.” (Acts 16:6-7)

Where is God telling you to scrap a project, stay status quo or rethink your plans? When our foundation is built on sand, bad things happen when storms blow through. God speaks to us through scripture, friends, and sermons. If you don’t listen, He gets a little louder. Perhaps it is through a poor performance evaluation at work or a marriage counselor telling you to listen to your spouse. If you continue to resist, He will Red Tag you! Better to inspect your own buildings and consider your ways before God has to do it for you!