Genesis 6

Noah's ark

Last week’s post: Genesis 5

Before we get started, I had some fun with AI this week. I asked it to summarize this post as a rap song. I was not disappointed. You’ll find the song at the end of this post and the end of the voiceover. Enjoy. Anyhow, on to Genesis 6…

This week, we’ve reached the story of Noah’s ark. It’s one of the most famous stories in the history of mankind. I grew up in church. We attended religiously Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night. I’ve heard countless sermons about Noah’s ark. Some good. Some terrible. As I re-read the story, here’s what I took away this time.

First, Noah didn’t have the same luck as ol’ Enoch from chapter 5 who walked with God and was taken away. Noah may have even been thinking, “Just take me away!” Instead, he had to build a giant boat and look like a total idiot to all his neighbors every day. I imagine Noah’s neighbor, Fred, who lives in the cul-de-sac with him walks out to grab his morning newspaper. “Whatcha doin’, there Noah?”

“Oh, building a giant boat to save what we can of life on earth when God destroys everything in a massive flood.”

Fred: “What? How do you know this is going to happen?”

Noah: “God told me.”

Fred: “Sure he did, there buddy.”

In a sense, Noah’s in the same boat – pardon the pun – that Christians are in today. Because that same neighbor now has Facebook.

Fred: “So, you believe that there was some giant, literal flood that destroyed all mankind?”

Christian: “Yes.”

Fred: “Really? How do you know this?”

Christian: “Because it’s in the Bible.”

Fred: “Ok, there buddy. So, what did all the animals eat while they were stuck on the big boat?”

Christian: “The carcasses of all the dead sinners.”

Ok, ok. I totally stole that line from Big Bang Theory. But, you get the point.

For whatever reason, here’s what I took away from this reading of Genesis 6: Noah ironically put us in the same position he was in when he built the boat. It’s just that I’m not the crazy guy building the boat with no evidence of a storm on the horizon. I’m the crazy guy believing that a boat was built in the first place because the Bible tells me so.

It is worth noting that many if not most cultures have a flood story…The Epic of Gilgamesh being perhaps the most notable outside of the Genesis account. To me, the prevalence of flood narratives gives credibility to the event of the flood being an actual historical event. But, I digress.

Here’s my takeaway this week: action is important. God told Noah to build a boat. So, he started building a boat. I would argue that modern Christians—myself included—aren’t so great at that. Suppose God tells us to do something so outlandish as to build a boat, my first response isn’t to grab a hammer. My first response is probably to study weather patterns, research boat-building techniques, form an exploratory committee on boat-building, and see if Tim Keller happened to write a book on the value of building a boat. That’s my natural inclination: study, research, plan, prepare. I’m not so much a Ready, Aim, Fire type of person as I am a Ready, Aim, Aim, Aim, Aim, Aim, Aim, Aim, find any excuse in the world not to fire type-of-person. I don’t think I’m alone. I’ve been a part of a couple churches that are quick to form committees, study groups, etc. but very slow to act. Influx of refugees? Should we drive across town, meet a few people, and share a meal with them? Nah. Let’s all do a 12-week Bible study on how to best help refugees. Then, let’s form a committee for the service of the refugee community. Then, let’s evaluate the committees ideas. Then, let’s pray about it for a couple weeks. Then, let’s commission the building of a church in a refugee community. But first, let’s put it to a vote of congregation members. Before we know it, we’re a year out from an influx of refugees and we have yet to interact with a single one of them in any meaningful way. That ain’t the gospel. But, I digress…

Of course, there are a thousand take-a-ways from the story of the flood; but that’s my main one this week. What is one area of your life where God has told you to move and, if you’re being honest, you’re procrastinating. Is it building a friendship? Repairing a relationship? Engaging those on the outskirts of society? Attending a church? Quitting a bad habit? Is there some area in which you need to stop studying, stop preparing, and just act?

I’ll close with this: I read an article recently where Elon Musk decried the “M.B.A.-ization of America”. His point was that it can be dangerous for businesses to overvalue those with MBA degrees (who have an intricate theoretical knowledge of business) and undervalue those with real world, trial-and-error experience. It’s not that MBA degrees are bad. It’s just that A) clean, theoretical knowledge doesn’t always jive in the messy real world; and, B) MBAs have a tendency to overthink things. Too often, MBAs get stuck in a process of “Ready. Aim. Aim. Study. Aim. Aim. Consult. Aim. Aim.” rather than “Ready. Aim. Fire.” or “Fire. Ready. Aim.” They spend too much time working on organizational structure and too little time focusing on the product or end user. Sometimes, you have to “move fast and break things” (Mark Zuckeberg) instead of sit at a coffee shop and increase your book knowledge.

Here’s my point: just as there is a danger in the over-M.B.A.-ization of America, I think there’s a danger in the overthinking, underacting of Christians. Actually, I think there’s a danger of the over-seminarian-ization of American church as a whole. But, that’s another discussion entirely. It’s not that seminary degrees are bad. It’s not that studying is bad. It’s just that seminarians can have a tendency toward overthink things—spending too much time working on organizational structure and too little time focusing on the “end user.” While I don’t have a seminary degree, I do have an MBA. True to stereotype, I’m remarkably good at overthinking, overanalyzing, and generally avoiding action in favor of theoretical contemplation. There’s a reason you see the disciples in the Bible learning in an active, “trial-by-fire”-type way. We know by their questions to Jesus that they were nowhere close to mastering theology or debate skills when Jesus sent them out to share the good news town by town. Yet, Jesus didn’t tell them to master theology before departing. He said “go.” And they went. Just like Noah when he faced a seemingly impossible task, they obeyed. They acted. They built. And God used their obedient action to change the world.

That’s my encouragement to you (and me) this week. Get out there and build something. Lean into grace when you fail. Lean into joy when you succeed.

A quote to challenge you this week: “The early church produced a book of Acts. The modern church produced a book of talks.”

And, without further adieu, here’s the Genesis 6 summary rap (lyrics by Grok AI).