Today’s Scripture Reading (April 12,
2014): Daniel 6
We are known
by the things that we do. George III ascended to take his place on the throne
of England on October 25, 1760. In his accession speech to the English
Parliament, a speech that was actually written by lawyer and politician Phillip
Yorke, the first Lord of Hardwicke, George inserted a phrase that had been
written by himself, and it is unclear as to whether the phrase was ever approved
by those who advised the king. The phrase was "born and
educated in this country, I glory in the name of Britain." The phrase was
supposed to announce that unlike the other Hanover Kings before George; kings who
were often accused of being more German than British, George was a product of Britain.
In fact, George III was the first Hanover King to have lived his entire life in
Britain, George had never even been to Hanover, an area on the European mainland
that is currently part of Germany. George was also the first Hanover king that
spoke English as his native language. This is how George wanted to be seen – he
was a new kind of king, a real British King.
But we remember George not for what he said, but what he
did. In North America, we remember George III as the king whose tyranny spawned
the American War of Independence. He was a king that wanted to interfere with
the colonies in order to raise more money for himself. And deep down, if we are
honest, we know that it is terribly unfair to sum up a person’s life on the one
sided perception of one event of that person’s life.
George III was also the king that defeated Napoleon at
Waterloo. What impressed the people at the time of the war that Britain had
with Napoleon and France, was that he was a king who was personally involved
with the defense of his nation. George personally went down to review the
troops who were defending the Island. Newspapers reported that if the armies of
France stepped onto British soil, George was ready to fight for his country at
the head of the British forces. His supplies were packed and, according to the
newspapers, George was never more than a half hour away from the fight. He was
a king that was not going to send someone else to do something that he did not
want to do. He would be there. In all of this, George is not seen as a real
British King because of what he said, but rather because of what he did.
One of the subplots of the story of Daniel and the Lion’s
Den is the role of King Darius. We know that throughout Daniel’s career in
Babylon that he was an honored leader in Babylon. But Babylon fell. And now
Daniel has risen again, this time with the Median Empire. And his role is so
great that the king himself is personally interested in Daniel’s life. He is
tricked into a decree that put’s Daniel’s life at risk, he spends a sleepless
night worrying about Daniel, and now he runs to be with Daniel. We know that
the king was an older man. And as king, it would have been quite proper for him
to send someone else in his stead. But the king refuses. He leaves the comforts
of his palace, and in what was probably both an undignified and humorous
moment, the king hurries to the lion’s den to see what has happened during the
night. This was an act that would have defined both the reign of the king, and
the life of Daniel.
Words are nice, but it is often our actions that carries
the real message. If we want to know who we are, whether we are King Darius of
the Median-Persian empire, or King George of Britain, or the person down the
street, the question that needs to be asked in never what did we say – it is always
what did we do.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Daniel
7
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