Handwriting on the Wall

Why is it that we have to learn things for our selves instead of learning from other's successes and failures? Why do we so often put ourselves through the hardships we do thinking that we can succeed when others have failed?

Maybe the TV show and the film by the same title, Jackass, reveals more truth about us than we want to admit, answering the quesions no one needs answering, such as "I wonder if this would hurt?" The answer is YES!

I'm guilty, too. But I am working at reading the books, going to the conferences where others successes and failures are revealed in order to help us not make some of the same mistakes. Belshazzar could have learned a few of these lessons.

He was King Nebuchanezzar's son and was living hight and mighty, just like his father had. But waht he didn't learn was the lessons in humility that King Neb got from God. He discovered, according the the record in the book of Daniel, that this God who spoke and worked through Daniel was the real, only God who directed human history, chose leaders and decided the future. He grew to respect God, through his 7 years of living in poverty away from his kingdom. Yet his son missed this lesson.

Now I don't know if King Neb just missed the opportunity of passing this along or if his son just wasn't interested. Either way, the lesson wasn't passed along and young King Belshazzar who literally saw the handwriting on the wall and refused to let it direct him, humble him.

The promises of God throughout the scriptures are filled with good promises and curses that come if we fail to live according to God's plan. In other words, the handwriting is on the wall for us already. The question for us, is our life lived in honor and respect of God and serving others or is our live lived only for our selfish pleasure?

God's paying attention. So should we.

Peace ><>
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