Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“So the presidents and the satraps tried to find grounds for complaint against Daniel in connection with the kingdom. But they could find no grounds for complaint or any corruption, because he was faithful, and no negligence or corruption could be found in him. The men said, ‘We shall not find any ground for complaint against this Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God.’”
NL Daily Devotion for Tuesday, August 20, 2024
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
Being distinguished, like Daniel, can have backlash. I admit to being a bit cynical about people sometimes, probably from my own history of less-than-stellar thoughts and behavior, but I recognize a human tendency to pull others down in order to feel better about ourselves. Our media is obsessed with celebrity, but the world seems to exult when someone we previously though to be perfect suddenly crashes and burns in public. Closer to home, we can all be victims of our own petty jealousies, which can lead us to do and say things we would find abhorrent if they were to happen to us. We can blame the whole idea of favoritism—it’s an ego-feeding proposition and anyone who has a healthy ego won’t want it to begin with—but if we’re honest with ourselves, when we find ourselves jealous of another person we need to see the places our own egos are paper thin, and work on shoring up our own sense of self. In short, we would do well to just accept Darius’ appointment of Daniel to the office he deserves and let go of our need to sabotage the Daniels in our lives.
Have I done something out of jealousy that I regret? What was the outcome?
