Daniel 2:1-13
In the second year of his reign, King Nebuchadnezzar started having dreams that disturbed him deeply. He couldn’t sleep. He called in all the Babylonian magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and fortunetellers to interpret his dreams for him. When they came and lined up before the king, he said to them, “I had a dream that I can’t get out of my mind. I can’t sleep until I know what it means.”The fortunetellers, speaking in the Aramaic language, said, “Long live the king! Tell us the dream and we will interpret it.”
The king answered the fortunetellers, “This is my decree: If you can’t tell me both the dream itself and its interpretation, I’ll have you ripped to pieces, limb from limb, and your homes torn down. But if you tell me both the dream and its interpretation, I’ll lavish you with gifts and honors. So go to it: Tell me the dream and its interpretation.”
They answered, “If it please your majesty, tell us the dream. We’ll give the interpretation.”
But the king said, “I know what you’re up to—you’re just playing for time. You know you’re up a tree. You know that if you can’t tell me my dream, you’re doomed. I see right through you—you’re going to cook up some fancy stories and confuse the issue until I change my mind. Nothing doing! First tell me the dream, then I’ll know that you’re on the up and up with the interpretation and not just blowing smoke in my eyes.”
The fortunetellers said, “Nobody anywhere can do what you ask. And no king, great or small, has ever demanded anything like this from any magician, enchanter, or fortuneteller. What you’re asking is impossible unless some god or goddess should reveal it—and they don’t hang around with people like us.”
That set the king off. He lost his temper and ordered the whole company of Babylonian wise men killed. When the death warrant was issued, Daniel and his companions were included. They also were marked for execution.
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
More times than I can count, my grandmother presented me with a litany of ailments. “My back is killing me… my head hurts… I can’t get my breath…I’ve felt light-headed or dizzy.” I took her to see the doctor, and when he entered her exam room and asked “How are you today?” she replied, “I’m fine.” On the way home, she would say, “Well, that doctor really didn’t do anything for me!” How could he? After playing “20 Questions” to try and determine her symptoms, he was reduced to guessing at a diagnosis and treatment. Often he erred on the side of caution and ordered a battery of tests - many of which were unpleasant and probably unnecessary. But it was his only recourse in order to protect his patient – and his reputation.
So often, we simply do not have all of the facts. Can you imagine trying to guess what another person dreamed at night… particularly under duress and the threat of dismemberment and death? Yet every time we assume that we know what another person is thinking, our behavior is virtually the same. There may be physicians who claim they can look at you and tell exactly what is wrong… but I would not want one of them treating me! And I wouldn’t want others to judge me based on their own mind-reading abilities!
So what does this mean for us as Christians? First, we must remember that we don’t always have all of the facts… and without them, we can’t possibly make critical judgments about others. We can’t decisively say, “He is lazy,” or “She’s not really sick,” or most certainly, “This person is not a Christian!” We cannot tell others what to do or how to change certain aspects of their life based on casual observations… or even what we think we know to be the facts. At the end of the day, we must stop looking at other people and saying with self-designated authority, “This is what is wrong with you!”
God calls us to love and encourage others… to offer help and hope… and advice when it is requested. But instead of saying, “This is what you should do,” or “You are so wrong,” we need to say, “If this were my decision, I would do this,” or “Based on what I’ve seen and heard, I would recommend such-and-such approach.” There is also no shame in telling another person, “It appears as if this or that is happening… but I don’t have all of the facts, so I cannot say for sure how you should proceed.” The only person who can see into the heart of another is God Almighty… and we are not in His league!
Like the king who really didn’t want to hear his dream recanted and interpreted, we often are setting others up for failure and disappointment by trying to guess what is happening in certain situations. When we give someone else half of the story and expect them to fill in the gaps and treat us a certain way, we have offered nothing more than a not-so-clever trick of our own. King Nebuchadnezzar was angered by the response… and as a king, he felt he had the authority to wield consequences.
There is only One King in our lives… and we humans are not kings! We must ask God to help us temper our reactions to others… to help us operate in truth and the facts as we know them… and to leave judgment and interpretation to Him. Who have you judged or criticized because of a lack of information? Where have you demanded that people treat you in a certain way based on limited facts? Isn’t it time we operated in truth and facts… and left the intangibles for God to handle? Are you ready to get started?
©2012 Debbie Robus
Showing posts with label playing God. Show all posts
Showing posts with label playing God. Show all posts
Daily Devotional for June 25, 2012
June 25 ~ Ephesians 4:32
Instead, be kind and merciful, and forgive others, just as God forgave you because of Christ.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
I’ve been thinking about the resident at my grandmother’s Assisted Living Facility who lashed out at me and another resident over Holy Communion. Honestly, his reaction about a Christian ritual did not seem all that kind – nor “Christian!” And just as honestly, my first thought was, “Ha! If we hold a Holy Communion service here, maybe you shouldn’t be included!” But then I started to think about the offering of Holy Communion and its meaning… and I was struck that this man not only deserves to participate as much as the next guy – maybe He needs to be offered the body and blood of Christ even more!
We don’t get to pick and choose. This is not our business… nor does such behavior reflect our faith in Jesus and our service to Him. Jesus has every right to judge us… but He freely offers grace and mercy to any who ask. He gave His very life for us to have the right to God's forgiveness. If we want to be like Jesus, we have to show His unconditional love to everyone – even those we deem to be “unlovely” and/or those who lash out and behave in a manner in which we don’t approve.
On any given day, each of us commits more sins than we would care to count. And to God, these all hold the same weight… unless we are committing blasphemy (cursing God and denying Him). So this means when we point a finger at the other guy, four are pointing back at us! Makes it a little harder to judge the other guy, doesn’t it?!
Instead of trying to “play God,” wouldn’t we be better off spending our time seeking His will for our lives… and offering the same grace, mercy and forgiveness He offers us to the other guy? Isn’t it time we modeled true Christian behavior for the whole world to see and let God be in charge? Who do you need to truly forgive today? Where have you judged inappropriately? Are you operating fully in God’s grace and mercy – and extending it to others? Isn’t it time you did?
©2012 Debbie Robus
Instead, be kind and merciful, and forgive others, just as God forgave you because of Christ.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
I’ve been thinking about the resident at my grandmother’s Assisted Living Facility who lashed out at me and another resident over Holy Communion. Honestly, his reaction about a Christian ritual did not seem all that kind – nor “Christian!” And just as honestly, my first thought was, “Ha! If we hold a Holy Communion service here, maybe you shouldn’t be included!” But then I started to think about the offering of Holy Communion and its meaning… and I was struck that this man not only deserves to participate as much as the next guy – maybe He needs to be offered the body and blood of Christ even more!
We don’t get to pick and choose. This is not our business… nor does such behavior reflect our faith in Jesus and our service to Him. Jesus has every right to judge us… but He freely offers grace and mercy to any who ask. He gave His very life for us to have the right to God's forgiveness. If we want to be like Jesus, we have to show His unconditional love to everyone – even those we deem to be “unlovely” and/or those who lash out and behave in a manner in which we don’t approve.
On any given day, each of us commits more sins than we would care to count. And to God, these all hold the same weight… unless we are committing blasphemy (cursing God and denying Him). So this means when we point a finger at the other guy, four are pointing back at us! Makes it a little harder to judge the other guy, doesn’t it?!
Instead of trying to “play God,” wouldn’t we be better off spending our time seeking His will for our lives… and offering the same grace, mercy and forgiveness He offers us to the other guy? Isn’t it time we modeled true Christian behavior for the whole world to see and let God be in charge? Who do you need to truly forgive today? Where have you judged inappropriately? Are you operating fully in God’s grace and mercy – and extending it to others? Isn’t it time you did?
©2012 Debbie Robus
Daily Devotional for December 10, 2011
John 19:1-11
Pilate gave orders for Jesus to be beaten with a whip. The soldiers made a crown out of thorn branches and put it on Jesus. Then they put a purple robe on him. They came up to him and said, "Hey, you king of the Jews!" They also hit him with their fists.
Once again Pilate went out. This time he said, "I will have Jesus brought out to you again. Then you can see for yourselves that I have not found him guilty." Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said, "Here is the man!" When the chief priests and the temple police saw him, they yelled, "Nail him to a cross! Nail him to a cross!”
Pilate told them, "You take him and nail him to a cross! I don't find him guilty of anything." The crowd replied, "He claimed to be the Son of God! Our Jewish Law says that he must be put to death." When Pilate heard this, he was terrified. He went back inside and asked Jesus, "Where are you from?" But Jesus did not answer. "Why won't you answer my question?"
Pilate asked. "Don't you know that I have the power to let you go free or to nail you to a cross?" Jesus replied, "If God had not given you the power, you couldn't do anything at all to me. But the one who handed me over to you did something even worse."
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
A little boy of about kindergarten age was visiting his aunt’s home and wandered into the bathroom. He emerged a while later and told all of the adults, “I hear sumpin’ – do you hear sumpin’?” When the aunt went to investigate, the bathroom was filled with steam, and the bathtub was full of hot water. The little boy shrugged and said, “I don’t know how that happened. I didn’t touch the hot water!” Even at five years of age, he knew not to confess to the actual “crime,” but he was not savvy enough to know that his comment about the water temperature did in fact place him in hot water!
We have a bad habit of taking credit for things we shouldn’t – and denying those for which we are truly responsible. So it was that Pilate told Jesus that he alone could save Him from the cross, giving himself credit where none was due. At the same time, Judas’ betrayal of Jesus had set everything in motion. And while Judas may have recognized his part in this eventually, all he saw initially was thirty pieces of silver being tossed his way.
What does this all mean for us? I believe we fail to see the big picture, because we are looking only at the events right in front of us – or how we appear to be directly affected. So we take credit for things we shouldn’t. We puff ourselves up for acts of “service” and generosity – giving to charity, serving on committees at church, or being kind to our friends and neighbors. We say things like, “I decided to give to such-and-such,” or “I thought I’d better help Joe with that project,” or “I let it slide that Carol owed me $100… it’s the holidays, after all.” Where is God in these decisions? Where is the prayerful consideration that “God led me to teach a Sunday school class” or “I felt the LORD telling me to help Jim out with his bills”?
We take pride in knowing that we had options, and we exercised them in a “noble” way that is sure to please God and everyone else! In taking credit for more than we should, we often betray the God who numbers the very hairs on our head. We fail to recognize His power and authority in our life… and in essence, we deny His presence – if not His very existence. At the same time, we are quick to wash our hands of things when they don't go as we hoped. "That's not my problem," we will say. Just like Pilate, we say, "If others want to pursue this, they can... but I'm outta here!"
At this time of year when we are all excited about the Good News of the birth of Jesus, I think we would do well to consider for a moment how we treat Him. Do we acknowledge the power and presence of God in our lives with our words and actions… or do we sell him out for a bag of silver? Do we “take credit for hearing the bath water running, but deny touching the faucet handle that started the whole thing”? Do we honor Jesus for His sacrifices on our behalf and His continual grace and mercy?
We can’t have it both ways. Either we serve God faithfully and trust His decisions on our behalf, or we sell Him out and give ourselves more credit than we deserve for how things go in our lives – and blame Him when so often they don’t turn out as we hoped.
This is the perfect season in which to get our priorities straight – and fully acknowledge God’s presence. It’s time to recognize our weakness apart from Him – and His incredible power over the events of our lives. Where do you fit into this picture? Are you at times like Pilate, Judas... or both? Are you honoring Jesus in your daily living? Isn't it time you did?
©2011 Debbie Robus
Pilate gave orders for Jesus to be beaten with a whip. The soldiers made a crown out of thorn branches and put it on Jesus. Then they put a purple robe on him. They came up to him and said, "Hey, you king of the Jews!" They also hit him with their fists.
Once again Pilate went out. This time he said, "I will have Jesus brought out to you again. Then you can see for yourselves that I have not found him guilty." Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said, "Here is the man!" When the chief priests and the temple police saw him, they yelled, "Nail him to a cross! Nail him to a cross!”
Pilate told them, "You take him and nail him to a cross! I don't find him guilty of anything." The crowd replied, "He claimed to be the Son of God! Our Jewish Law says that he must be put to death." When Pilate heard this, he was terrified. He went back inside and asked Jesus, "Where are you from?" But Jesus did not answer. "Why won't you answer my question?"
Pilate asked. "Don't you know that I have the power to let you go free or to nail you to a cross?" Jesus replied, "If God had not given you the power, you couldn't do anything at all to me. But the one who handed me over to you did something even worse."
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
A little boy of about kindergarten age was visiting his aunt’s home and wandered into the bathroom. He emerged a while later and told all of the adults, “I hear sumpin’ – do you hear sumpin’?” When the aunt went to investigate, the bathroom was filled with steam, and the bathtub was full of hot water. The little boy shrugged and said, “I don’t know how that happened. I didn’t touch the hot water!” Even at five years of age, he knew not to confess to the actual “crime,” but he was not savvy enough to know that his comment about the water temperature did in fact place him in hot water!
We have a bad habit of taking credit for things we shouldn’t – and denying those for which we are truly responsible. So it was that Pilate told Jesus that he alone could save Him from the cross, giving himself credit where none was due. At the same time, Judas’ betrayal of Jesus had set everything in motion. And while Judas may have recognized his part in this eventually, all he saw initially was thirty pieces of silver being tossed his way.
What does this all mean for us? I believe we fail to see the big picture, because we are looking only at the events right in front of us – or how we appear to be directly affected. So we take credit for things we shouldn’t. We puff ourselves up for acts of “service” and generosity – giving to charity, serving on committees at church, or being kind to our friends and neighbors. We say things like, “I decided to give to such-and-such,” or “I thought I’d better help Joe with that project,” or “I let it slide that Carol owed me $100… it’s the holidays, after all.” Where is God in these decisions? Where is the prayerful consideration that “God led me to teach a Sunday school class” or “I felt the LORD telling me to help Jim out with his bills”?
We take pride in knowing that we had options, and we exercised them in a “noble” way that is sure to please God and everyone else! In taking credit for more than we should, we often betray the God who numbers the very hairs on our head. We fail to recognize His power and authority in our life… and in essence, we deny His presence – if not His very existence. At the same time, we are quick to wash our hands of things when they don't go as we hoped. "That's not my problem," we will say. Just like Pilate, we say, "If others want to pursue this, they can... but I'm outta here!"
At this time of year when we are all excited about the Good News of the birth of Jesus, I think we would do well to consider for a moment how we treat Him. Do we acknowledge the power and presence of God in our lives with our words and actions… or do we sell him out for a bag of silver? Do we “take credit for hearing the bath water running, but deny touching the faucet handle that started the whole thing”? Do we honor Jesus for His sacrifices on our behalf and His continual grace and mercy?
We can’t have it both ways. Either we serve God faithfully and trust His decisions on our behalf, or we sell Him out and give ourselves more credit than we deserve for how things go in our lives – and blame Him when so often they don’t turn out as we hoped.
This is the perfect season in which to get our priorities straight – and fully acknowledge God’s presence. It’s time to recognize our weakness apart from Him – and His incredible power over the events of our lives. Where do you fit into this picture? Are you at times like Pilate, Judas... or both? Are you honoring Jesus in your daily living? Isn't it time you did?
©2011 Debbie Robus
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