Daniel 5:25 And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.
The Folly of Forgetting God
Some years ago, I was privileged to meet a godly, humble man who was also the pastor of a very large, historic church. I have thought often about his level of humility considering the great ministry for which he was responsible. It occurred to me that his response to his ministry was the logical response of a man who had a healthy perspective. Nobody who has a good perspective should be stuck on themselves. Pride is the poor perspective that forgets what has been, what will be, and all the people who are around us now.
This pastor, as it turns out, had pastored this church for a long time, but the church itself was well over a hundred years old and had a long tradition of prominent pastors. Moreover, he was in fellowship with several other churches that were at least the size of the one he shepherded at the time. That is perspective.
It is so easy for us to get puffed up when we lose our perspective. That is exactly what happened with King Belshazzar, who had inherited the great Babylonian empire. The Bible tells us that as they were feasting, “they drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.” Belshazzar literally had the gall to take the temple treasures, looted years before from Jerusalem, and drink out of those sacred vessels. He did this while praising the materials from which the vessels were made instead of the God of the vessels.
God sent a hand that wrote a prophecy of this king’s destruction on the wall, and that very night Belshazzar and his marvelous empire crumbled to the Medes and Persians.
This man lived in pride and forgot God. He forgot his predecessor whom God had humbled. Daniel told this arrogant king, “The most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honor: and for the majesty that he gave him, all people, nations, and languages, trembled and feared before him.” He reminded him that God was the One Who was sovereign regardless of who reigned in Babylon. Daniel finished by saying, “Thou his son… hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this; but hath lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven.”
Pride is the folly of forgetting God. Sometimes we try to think less of ourselves or think of ourselves less, but so much of that is put into perspective when we put our eyes on God, and have a perspective of a God who exceeds history and governs the day.