Vanity

Daniel 4:28-32 All this happened to King Nebuchadnezzar. 29 Twelve months later, as the king was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, 30 he said, “Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?” 31 The words were still on his lips when a voice came from heaven, “This is what is decreed for you, King Nebuchadnezzar: Your royal authority has been taken from you. 32 You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like cattle. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes.”
 
GREAT danger arises when you put yourself above God. The Bible has many examples of powerful people who had Nebuchadnezzar’s self-focused eyes, “Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?”  Such near-sighted vision keeps us from fulling seeing God’s will for our lives.
    “Why would God punish someone for these few words?” we might ask. But isn’t this self-focus the essence of sin? We are prone to believe our “mighty power” permits us to do as we please. The prideful heart concludes, “If I want something, surely it is my right to have it. Why would an educated human mind want to restrict itself to God’s limiting rules? Why would I want to give God credit for something I did? Certainly true freedom is to myself above a God who seems to have little or nothing to do with day-to-day life.”
    This kind of mind is Satan’s influence on our souls. King Nebuchadnezzar thought this way. In other passages, Daniel has demonstrated how the king praised God for his power and authority. But yet, he rejects God’s personal influence on his life. He sees no connection between God’s power to reveal mysteries and his own creativity, wealth and power.
    Thus, God condemns the king to live as an animal for a period of time. The Most High God continues to work on Nebuchadnezzar’s mind to humble the proud and rich as an example to the Jews and the world.
    I wonder who was listening?
 
Philippians 2:3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.