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A few months ago, my husband and I traveled abroad to hike the Cotswold Way, a 103-mile trail through rural England. Celebrating our 35th wedding anniversary with a long walk through the English countryside was epic and extraordinary. It also exceeded my grandest expectations! Over 10 days and 100+ miles, we met spicy yet kind Brits, delighted in more sheep than I can count, and thoroughly enjoyed being together through mile after mile of rich, flowing conversation.
Our research and maps indicated that we would walk past a famous tower on our first day of hiking. Previous hikers and tourists alike encouraged us to stop and tour this middle-of-the-country anomaly. We were intrigued.
What interested me most about the Broadway Tower was its origin. Very succinctly:
Once upon a time, in 1761, an Earl-guy bought land where the tower would eventually be built. The Earl-guy was married to his beloved, Lady Barbara. In 1798, he completed a castle-like tower as a token of their enduring love. Sadly, Lady Barbara died just a few years later. The grim end (of the origin of the tower).
Another very curious fact is that this tower belongs to a category of structures known as “follies.” Most of us are familiar with the word folly, meaning a lack of good sense, judgment, or rational thought; foolishness. But calling a structure “a folly” was new to me. I confirmed with Webster, who cited another definition of “folly”:
An often extravagant picturesque building erected to suit a fanciful taste.
Yes, that’s exactly what the Broadway Tower is! I have to wonder if, besides loving his wife, the Earl-guy also wanted to make a name for himself.
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As we hiked away from the Broadway Tower, I couldn’t help but think about another tower of folly: the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9).
The Bible says the builders of that city and its tall tower wanted to make a name for themselves (v. 4). This tower was constructed foolishly, not to suit a fanciful taste like the tower in the English countryside, but out of a defiant desire to resist being dispersed over the face of the whole earth. Yes indeed, it was a “tower of folly.”
In the Bible, “folly” is connected to spiritual and moral deficiency. In the Book of Proverbs, part of the Bible’s Wisdom Literature, folly is described as:
Arrogance and self-sufficiency (Proverbs 12:15)
Moral compromise and rebellion (Proverbs 14:9)
Lack of self-control (Proverbs 29:11)
Short-sightedness (Proverbs 22:3)
Folly and wisdom are two distinct, opposing paths, and we want to journey along wisdom’s path, walk with the wise, and, in doing so, honor the Lord.
At its core, folly rejects God’s moral bearings. It says, like the builders of Babel, “I will set my own course and make my own name.” Proverbs 1:7 puts it plainly: fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Wisdom, on the other hand, begins with the “fear of the Lord” (Proverbs 9:10). Not a cowering dread, but a reverent awe that bows low instead of building high.
May we build nothing to make a name for ourselves, and everything to honor His. May God direct our steps and help us to choose the wise path, one humble step at a time.