Genesis 11: I Have an Idea!

No telling how many disastrous projects have been launched with these words: "Hey y'all -- I have an idea!"
Big ideas that aren't God ideas are bad ideas, and we find one here in Genesis 11-- the infamous tower of Babel.
Here's what these folks wanted to do: "Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name, otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth."
What's wrong with building a big tower in a big city, earning a little street cred and sticking together?
Plenty, if it's not God's will. And if this group had just asked God to weigh in on their plan, they could've saved themselves a whole lot of back-breaking work.
It seems these folks had allowed their roots to grow deep and weren't much interested in God's command to spread out so they could "fill the earth." They wanted to stay right where they were, thank you very much.
They also evidently thought a little too highly of themselves, imagining they could build a tower "whose top will reach into heaven" and thereby make a name for themselves.
In response to their selfish, rebellious, misguided efforts, God confused their language. Suddenly, they couldn't understand each other. That happens a lot around my house, but I'm pretty sure it's not God's fault. In Genesis 11, however, God was indeed behind the serious and sudden communication problem.
Since it's impossible to build a tower to heaven when you can't even ask the guy working next to you to pass some bricks, the project went bust and these folks who didn't want to scatter were scattered "abroad over the face of the whole earth."
What was the big deal here and why did God do what He did? Is He like that toddler in the church nursery who delights in knocking down all the other kids' block towers? Uh, no.
In Genesis 6:11, God expresses His concern over what would happen if this construction project succeeded:  "...nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them."
I don't fully understand what this means, but this I do know: When sinful people join forces to achieve ungodly goals, it's never a good thing. History certainly bears that out.
Whatever else was involved here, it seems God was clearly trying to save the Babel-dwellers from themselves. When someone is racing down a path of destruction, the most loving thing we can do is to stop them, which is exactly what God did. I'm sure it didn't feel like love to the Babel-ites, but love doesn't have to feel good to be true.
Sometimes God demonstrates His love for us by derailing our bad ideas.
That's His heart.