FAITH CAPSULE: Pride is personal ride to self destruction. 

Daniel 6:10-24,

Making up excuse in the face of wrong doing is attempting to get away from submitting to one another or to the law of the land. Evidently, making up excuse is a branch from pride. Pride is the opposite of humility. Pride is not of God and it leads to untimely death. Pride is personal ride to self destruction. Many in the scripture that resumed pride resulted into untimely death. Adam gave excuse in the face of his disobedient and died spiritually. Adam ate fromthe tree of knowledge of good and evil despite God’s command not to eat (Genesis 2:16-18) Adam became sinned. Adam did not ask for forgiveness when God confronted his doing but he reduced himself by giving excuse (excuse is an agent of pride) Adam’s response states that, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.” (Genesis 3:12) Being a believer or a self proclaimed born again is not an excuse for doing wrong against the law of the land or against the authority that is over you. Daniel, a man with a purposed heart serving the Lord God Almighty, did not abuse the power of God in his life. Daniel did not use his God-given power to disregard or wrong the king or the law of the land. Despite his submission to authority, he would not compromise his faith. He took his stand in his faith while still showing respect to the king. As a believer, we should not use that as an excuse to disregard the authority which governs the land. We should be viewed by others as an example that testifies that we are in the Lord. When Daniel refused to compromise his stand in the Lord, he was sentenced to death by being thrown into the lions’ den. Are you in the lions’ den as you read this? You can rest assured that if you have respected authority, and have consistently maintained your stand in the Lord, victory is certain. While in the lions’ den, the king called out to Daniel wanting to know Daniel’s situation. Daniel responded to the king, “My God sent His angel and shut the lion’s mouths, so that they have not hurt me, because I was found innocent before Him; and also, O king, I have done no wrong before you.” (Daniel 6:22) Daniel allowed God to act on his behalf for deliverance because he allowed himself to submit to the law of the land. It is written, “Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme.” (1Peter 2:13)  You can be submissive and not compromise. Your faith should not be an excuse for insubordination.

Prayer for today: Ask God to uphold you from making up flimsy excuse that takes away and not give life.