You Are The Man!

“You, O king, are that tree...Renounce your sins by doing what is right…It may be that then your prosperity will continue.” Daniel 4:22, 27. “Than Nathan said to David, ‘You are the man!’ 2 Samuel 12:7.

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to see the sins of others but are blind to our own sins? This was the case with King Nebuchadnezzar and King David but the responses were miles apart. Daniel pled with the king of Babylon to repent of his sins and care for the poor and oppressed in an effort to show God the remorse for his pride and compassion for others. Daniel knew that more was required than simply lip service…it was time for action if God was going to change His mind. King David, however, immediately repented before the Lord with a broken heart. His pride was dismantled by the heart breaking experience of losing his child to death.

God will not allow His children to sit in pride. If we have wrapped ourselves in this garment of self-focus and status seeking, we will be stripped and re-clothed in humility. I know this story too well...I waited too long. I do not wish this season on anyone for the humility will always lie in the areas for which we have doted on the most, those areas in which we feel most entitled. God will determine the avenue of this dismantling after a season of warning. God never cuts us back without giving us ample time to cut ourselves back. He knows the condition of our hearts and determines if we are going to be unwilling to surrender ourselves. At that point, He will arise from the throne and with loving but firm discipline set up the circumstances for our dissent down.

We must examine our lives and our priorities and measure them against the walk of Jesus when He was on earth. Our lives either reflect the comparison to Jesus or the contrast. This is how we know if we are living a life of pride or a life of humility. So in the spirit of Daniel we should all identify the areas where we are that tree and flee from pride.

…and it may be that then….