The Warning of Pride

All this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar. At the end of twelve months he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon. The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty? While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee. And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles' feathers, and his nails like birds' claws. - Daniel 4:28-33

Okay, how many of us have done the same thing as Nebuchadnezzar did? How many of us have taken credit for something the Lord did? Hmmm. Tough question, huh?

The truth is we all have a pride problem from time to time. Whether it's taking credit for things that God accomplished or thinking that we're always right, pride is a sin, and a very dangerous one at that.

Aren't you glad, though, that God doesn't always punish pride the way He did in this story? I don't know if Nebuchadnezzar turned into a mad man for a while or if he actually turned into a beast, but I do know that his life was miserable during that time. I know that God showed him who was really in control.

The really bad part about this story is that Nebuchadnezzar knew it was coming. God had warned him in a dream, and Daniel had interpreted that dream. All Nebuchadnezzar had to do was heed the warning, and the whole thing would have never happened.

We, too, have been warned about pride. The Bible is full of verses that remind us that pride is wrong and something that the Lord despises. It warns us that destruction follows on the heels of pride. Even Nebuchadnezzar, after his ordeal, warns us of pride. Pay close attention to the last phrase of this chapter.

Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.

Will we heed the warnings or will we ignore them like Nebuchadnezzar and face the consequences? I don't know about you, but I don't care much for grazing, so I think I'll heed the warnings!