Prideful Tendencies
Even as believers, we must constantly
be on guard against our human tendencies
to be prideful and take inappropriate credit
for our accomplishments.
Here's Gene:
When the apostle Paul was writing
a letter to the Corinthians,
he really captured the essence
of this Principle with these words--
where he gives us a strong a word of caution:
Therefore, whoever thinks he stands
must be careful not to fall!
And here in this chapter
that we're going to look at,
in Daniel chapter 4, Nebuchadnezzar
really illustrates in an incredible way,
a violation of this biblical exhortation.
Because it reveals
his pride and his arrogance.
In this particular situation
he has a dream.
And at this point in time,
Daniel is about 40 years of age.
We fast-forward in his life
from chapter 3 to chapter 4.
And he has credibility with Nebuchadnezzar.
Over all these years he's become
a trusted confidant and a wise man,
as it were, that Nebuchadnezzar would consult.
And Nebuchadnezzar certainly remembered
years ago when he had that dream--
wouldn't tell anybody what it was.
And then Daniel revealed it.
But here he tells Daniel.
He trusts him; he doesn't feel like
he's going to manipulate him or tell him
something that he shouldn't tell him.
Because one of the things he said
way back when, when he had that first dream.
Where Daniel--only 17 years of age--
was able to tell him what it was.
One of the things that Nebuchadnezzar said
to his wise men and to his sorcerers, he said:
I don't trust you guys.
Because if I tell you what I dreamt,
you'll go ahead and make something up
that doesn't relate to the truth.
Well he trusts Daniel
and so he tells him this dream.
And basically what it was
is that he saw this huge tree.
It was a beautiful tree.
The branches. The birds would come
and nest in this tree.
Wonderful foliage.
The shade would provide comfort for animals.
And so he saw this great tree.
But what happened was
that this tree fell down.
It just fell over.
But a stump was left.
And so Nebuchadnezzar
was really puzzled by this. And he said:
What is this?
What is this dream?
What does it mean?
And basically, Daniel was very honest
and said: You're the tree.
And you're going to fall
because of your pride.
Because of your arrogance.
At that point in time, you know he had credibility
with the king to be able to be
that honest and blunt.
So he told him the truth.
But he warned him. He said:
If you repent of your arrogance,
perhaps God will have mercy.
Well Nebuchadnezzar, if he's listening,
is not listening very carefully.
Because that's where we pick up
with Nebuchadnezzar's prideful statements.
Look at Daniel chapter 4, verse 28:
All this happened to King Nebuchadnezzar...
Everything that Daniel said was going to happen--
it happened. And so we read:
...At the end of 12 months,
as he was walking on the roof
of the royal palace of Babylon,
the king exclaimed,
"Is this not Babylon the Great
that I have built by my vast power
to be a royal residence
and to display my majestic glory?"
Twelve months ago,
Daniel interpreted the dream.
And said: You are the tree
that's going to fall
because of your arrogance.
And Nebuchadnezzar ignored it
and went on with his pride and his arrogance.
And so what happened is,
God's words of judgment came,
just as Daniel prophesied. In verse 31:
...While the words
were still in the king's mouth,
[these braggadocio statements],
a voice came from heaven:
"King Nebuchadnezzar,
to you it is declared
that the kingdom has departed from you. ...
In other words, a tree is going to fall.
...You will be driven away from people
to live with the wild animals,
[and] you will feed on grass like cattle
for seven periods of time...
Which literally means "for seven years."
For seven years you're going to live
as an insane man:
...until you acknowledge
that the Most High is ruler
over the kingdom of men,
and He gives it to anyone He wants."
And then we have
a very startling statement in verse 33:
...At that moment the sentence
against Nebuchadnezzar was executed.
And so everything that was prophesied
through that dream as Daniel interpreted it,
it happened just as Daniel had stated
it was going to. Until seven years later,
after living like an animal in his insanity,
Nebuchadnezzar acknowledged God.
And that's what we see
in relationship to his statement in verse 36. Notice:
At that time...
That is, at the end of those seven years
and when I acknowledged God:
...At that time my sanity returned to me,
and my majesty and splendor
returned to me for the glory of my kingdom. ...
In other words, God gave him back
all that he had created--
that he was bragging about before he fell.
...My advisors and my nobles sought me out,
I was reestablished over my kingdom,
and even more greatness came to me. ...
God gave him more than he had before.
But now he says--listen:
...Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt,
and glorify the King of heaven,
because all His works are true
and His ways are just.
He is able to humble those who walk in pride.
And so this brings us full circle
back to where I began
with that quotation from the apostle Paul--
1st Corinthians 10:12:
[So,] whoever thinks he stands
must be careful not to fall!
And Nebuchadnezzar fell.
Now here's a Reflection and Response question
because obviously, this story applies
in so many ways and is reiterated--
this truth is reiterated
throughout the whole Bible
in terms of pride versus humility.
And the question is:
How can we avoid the temptation
to allow pride to take control of our lives,
and at the same time
feel good about our accomplishments?
I believe God wants us to feel good
about our accomplishments.
He's not against our accomplishments.
He's not against our feeling good.
What God does not want
is for us to take glory to ourselves
and take it away from God.
And Nebuchadnezzar, of course,
violated that Principle.
Now I think one of the ways
in which we can avoid this temptation
to fall into pride and arrogance
is to review the stories of the Old Testament.
Stories like what happened here
to Nebuchadnezzar because of his pride.
And as you look back
through the stories of the Old Testament,
one of the things you'll notice, by the way,
is that God doesn't whitewash His people.
He doesn't paint over their sins
and make them look good.
He just lays it out.
And you see that in the life of Abraham.
You see it in Isaac and Jacob.
You see it in David--
a man after God's heart--
and how he fell into pride
and arrogance and immorality.
You see it in Solomon.
You see it in the kings--all the kings of Israel.
Incredible.
There's not one good king in Israel--
the northern kingdoms.
There were a few in the southern tribe of Judah.
But generally, you have all of these
examples of failure on the part of those people
who sinned against God.
But you have these great examples
like Joseph, and Joshua, and Daniel,
and Ezra, and Nehemiah.
And so I believe that one of the things
we can do--it's really, I think,
is a positive experience--
is to review these stories.
I love, really, the stories of the Old Testament
and what we can learn.
Because they really set the stage
for what God says in the New Testament.
Which gives us even greater encouragement
in terms of how to live the Christian life.
And to avoid the very thing
that happened to Nebuchadnezzar
and to some of the other people
that even were followers of God.
And of course, our greatest example
is Jesus Christ Himself--God Himself in Christ.
And I love that great passage in Philippians.
And here is the second point
that I'd like to make.
And that is to imitate Christ in our lives.
And so we read:
Do nothing out of rivalry or conceit,
but in humility consider others
as more important than yourselves.
Everyone should look out
not only for his own interests...
And by the way, let me just simply say
we all have our own interests.
There's nothing wrong with our own interests.
However, Paul said:
...Everyone should look out
not only for his own interests,
but also for the interests of others.
Make your own attitude of that [of] Christ Jesus.
And of course, Paul goes on to explain
that here is Jesus Christ
who existed with the Father--
one with the Father--
but He didn't cling to that position.
Laid it aside. Was born into this world
as a baby. Humbled Himself,
became a servant. Went to the cross.
And so consequently,
Jesus Christ Himself is our greatest example.
And by focusing on Jesus Christ
and what He can do in our lives,
I believe God can give us victory over arrogance.
And another point that I think
is important here is to make sure
that our security is in Jesus Christ.
Now we all need a sense of security
in who we are as human beings,
and what we can accomplish
with the gifts God has given us.
But the important thing is:
Is that our security ultimately is in Jesus Christ.
It's really interesting
that a lot of prideful and arrogant people--
if you look closely. Not all, but a lot of people
who struggle with pride and arrogance
are very insecure people.
And they're trying to make up
for their insecurity by being boastful,
and prideful, and arrogant.
I've seen that.
I've seen that in college professors.
I've seen that in major leaders.
The fact you have a major position
doesn't mean that you're not plagued with insecurities.
We all are to a certain extent.
But the wonderful thing is,
we can have security in Jesus Christ.
And we don't have to go around
proving who we are.
But living who we are in Jesus Christ.
So here's the Principle
that I believe that grows out of this story
of Nebuchadnezzar and this dream:
Even as believers, we must constantly
be on guard against our human tendencies
to be prideful and take inappropriate credit
for our accomplishments.