Today’s Scripture Reading (July 2, 2017):
Daniel 6
Frank Herbert in “Chapterhouse: Dune”
makes this comment – “Power attracts the
corruptible. Suspect any who seek it.” Prince Harry in June 2017 made a very
similar comment. According to Harry, no royal wants the throne of England. They
become King and Queen for the benefit of the people. They would rather go about their lives like everyone else, picking up
things from the grocery store before returning home and putting their feet up
to watch television. (I am not sure that Harry wants to relinquish the wealth
that comes with his royalty. Picking up the groceries is often one thing.
Trying to figure out how to pay for them is something else.) Harry
credits his mother with making sure that both Harry and the likely future King
William knew how to lead ordinary lives. But the bottom line is that, according
to Prince Harry, the Royals do not chase after power, it is thrust upon them,
and they attempt to use it for the benefit of their subjects. Of course, the
power inherent in being the King or Queen is a lot less than was once true. But still, there is power in the position.
Daniel was not a king.
But the king was impressed by his work,
and he was willing to put Daniel in charge over a district in the nation. Those
who sought that position of power tried to find a reason to deny Daniel the
position. But it does not appear that Daniel had ever chased after the influential role. He was nothing more than a
man who had been exiled from his homeland. I am not sure that as a youth, at the
moment when he was torn from his home, he
could have ever dreamt of rising to such power. Most likely he had thought that
his life was over.
But instead of giving
up, Daniel just simply kept on living his life the way that his parents and teacher
back home had taught him to live. He lived his life in honesty. Since his
humble beginnings under King
Nebuchadnezzar, he had seen many administrations come and go. But Daniel
remained. The exile, who was living in a foreign land, continually became the man on whom the kings discovered that they
could lean. And now that Darius of the
Median-Persian Empire had taken control of Babylon, once again he found in
Daniel someone on whom he could rely.
Many years had passed.
The youth that had been taken out of
Judah had become an old man. He still did not chase after power. He probably didn’t
really care if he was placed in control
by Darius or not. It was enough to live out his life in a way that would honor
his God, just as he had when he was younger.
Daniel could be trusted.
Those who chased after Daniel’s position were corruptible. And that was a
lesson that King Darius was about to learn.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Daniel 7
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