Authority
“But all these things did happen to King Nebuchadnezzar. Twelve months later he was taking a walk on the flat roof of the royal palace in Babylon. As he looked out across the city, he said, ‘Look at this great city of Babylon! By my own mighty power, I have built this beautiful city as my royal residence to display my majestic splendor.’ “While these words were still in his mouth, a voice called down from heaven, ‘O King Nebuchadnezzar, this message is for you! You are no longer ruler of this kingdom. You will be driven from human society. You will live in the fields with the wild animals, and you will eat grass like a cow. Seven periods of time will pass while you live this way, until you learn that the Most High rules over the kingdoms of the world and gives them to anyone he chooses.’" Daniel 4:28-32
It was a Monday afternoon in the 7th grade. It was time to pay the piper. The substitute teacher from the Friday before had taken meticulous notes. These notes identified, in great detail, each of the little ruffians that had provided an intolerable amount of negative exuberance. In short, we were the disrespectful brats. Unfortunately, my name landed on the list. Mr. History Teacher took us out of the room. One at a time we were instructed to bend over and grab our ankles. After a wind-up, which I felt was a little excessive, the paddle fell ... "Whack!!" Lessons learned? Number 1 -- I don't like being paddled. Number 2 -- Respect those in authority.
King Nebuchadnezzar had an authority problem as well. He figured that he was the ultimate authority, accountable to no one. He also believed that he alone was responsible for attaining the position that he held as king. Seven years of eating grass and dodging cow pies brought some needed clarity into his world. Daniel had pleaded with him earlier to stop sinning and do what was right, but his warning fell on deaf ears. His arrogant speech on his palace roof brought God's swift and years long paddling. Lessons learned? Number -- 1 God rules over all the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes. Number 2 -- God does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of earth. Summary: God is in charge.
Truth be told, authority is hard for all of us. We want to call the shots. We want to take the credit. We pretty much believe that we are the big deal. Little Nebuchadnezzars, the whole lot of us. Today we have a choice to make. We can live in the humble recognition of the reality of God's authority over all things, including us, or we can live under the delusion that we are in charge. God, in his love, may take us out to the woodshed like he did with Nebuchadnezzar or he may let us bury ourselves under our self-centered life. Yikes! I prefer James' counsel, "Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will lift you up."
Grace and Peace,
Tom
It was a Monday afternoon in the 7th grade. It was time to pay the piper. The substitute teacher from the Friday before had taken meticulous notes. These notes identified, in great detail, each of the little ruffians that had provided an intolerable amount of negative exuberance. In short, we were the disrespectful brats. Unfortunately, my name landed on the list. Mr. History Teacher took us out of the room. One at a time we were instructed to bend over and grab our ankles. After a wind-up, which I felt was a little excessive, the paddle fell ... "Whack!!" Lessons learned? Number 1 -- I don't like being paddled. Number 2 -- Respect those in authority.
King Nebuchadnezzar had an authority problem as well. He figured that he was the ultimate authority, accountable to no one. He also believed that he alone was responsible for attaining the position that he held as king. Seven years of eating grass and dodging cow pies brought some needed clarity into his world. Daniel had pleaded with him earlier to stop sinning and do what was right, but his warning fell on deaf ears. His arrogant speech on his palace roof brought God's swift and years long paddling. Lessons learned? Number -- 1 God rules over all the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes. Number 2 -- God does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of earth. Summary: God is in charge.
Truth be told, authority is hard for all of us. We want to call the shots. We want to take the credit. We pretty much believe that we are the big deal. Little Nebuchadnezzars, the whole lot of us. Today we have a choice to make. We can live in the humble recognition of the reality of God's authority over all things, including us, or we can live under the delusion that we are in charge. God, in his love, may take us out to the woodshed like he did with Nebuchadnezzar or he may let us bury ourselves under our self-centered life. Yikes! I prefer James' counsel, "Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will lift you up."
Grace and Peace,
Tom
Comments
Post a Comment