Are You Found Wanting?

In Chapter 5 of the book of Daniel, Belshazzar (Nebuchadnezzar's son) hosted a party. As if his party wasn't bad enough, he commanded his servants to bring him the cups that his father had stolen from the temple (God's house). Not wise!

Not long after that, a hand appears out of thin air. I'm sorry, but that would probably scare me to death. Belshazzar was pretty scared too. The Bible says, Then the king's countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another. I'd say that's pretty scared.

You know the rest of the story. The hand writes on the wall, "MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN." The king, at the advice of his wife, summons Daniel to translate the meaning of the words. Daniel reminds Belshazzar of the time his father, Nebuchadnezzar, was removed from his throne and made to live like a beast of the field because of his pride. In "Dana jargon," this is what Daniel said next: "And, you, Belshazzar, are doing the exact same thing as your father did, even though you know what happened to him. You've stolen from the house of God. You've drunk wine. You've worshiped idols. And above all, you've failed to praise the God who gave you the breath you need to stay alive. And so, you're kingdom will be taken from you as well. You're done!"

The part I want to really focus on is the meaning of the word "TEKEL" that was written on the wall. Look at verse 27: TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.
Can you imagine hearing anything more heartbreaking than that? Can you imagine God coming to you and saying such a thing?

I pray that the Lord never has to tell me that I am found wanting. I pray, instead, that He will be able to say of me what He said of Daniel in the next chapter.

Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him. - Daniel 6:4

Now, please understand, this verse is not saying that Daniel was perfect. Only God is perfect. However, it is saying that he lived such a God-filled life that fault was not immediately evident. It means that he was not found wanting. It means that God was pleased with Daniel's faithfulness and integrity. It means that Daniel was striving to be like Christ. It means Daniel was being a true Christian.

The word Christian means "Christ-like," but we often use the term simply to identify a believer. Sad to say, I've met a few believers who were not at all "Christ-like." If we're going to call ourselves Christians, we need to live up to that title. Otherwise, we are disobeying the third of the ten commandments. We are taking the name of the Lord in vain. At that point, it's just a title with little or no meaning. Let's be careful. God is watching. What will He be able to say about us?

It's time to stop straddling the fence. Are we on His side or not? If so, let's act like it so that when the world looks at us, they'll have to look really hard to find fault. And during that time of observation, who knows, they may be blinded by the Son!