Have you ever found yourself being a little too proud of your accomplishments? I know, being a performer in a Christian singing group, that it is easy to think that I am all that and a bag of chips. I usually getpunished or humiliated by God in some way. God works funny like that. Itseems that every time I think that I performed well someone tells me thatour performance was not all that it was cracked up to be. This isextremely humbling and when looked back upon embarrassing. King Darius in Daniel chapter six was full of himself. His administratorsconned him into writing a law that said that everyone had to worship theKing and no one else. The King thought that this was a very good ideasince he was the one that everyone would be worshipping; so he signedthe law. This was such a good idea, he was thinking, until one of theadministrators tricked him into writing the law. After writing the law one ofhis administrators told him that Daniel, one of the Kings most trustedadministrators, was praying three times a day to the God of Abraham,Isaac, and Jacob. When King Darius realized what had to be done, (thatDaniel was going to be thrown into the lions den) he mourned for anentire day. After finding no possible solution Darius gave the order tothrow Daniel into the lions den. As the story goes, Daniel comes out of theden untouched and the king praised the God of Daniel. He then made anew decree saying that everyone in the kingdom should tremble withfear before the God of Daniel. King Darius is a lot like myself. He was very quick to be prideful and itcaused much grief, but in the end God intervened. I find that when I feeltoo proud something bad happens and I don't mourn, but I amsaddened by the bad that has happened. I always know that in the endGod will change my heart and I hope that my own selfish nature will notoutweigh my love for my God. It is amazing to me that God knows theparticular ways to shoot down your pride....
