Daniel 6:7 All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and the princes, the counsellors, and the captains, have consulted together to establish a royal statute, and to make a firm decree, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any God or man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions. 8 Now, O king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not. 9 Wherefore king Darius signed the writing and the decree.
This passage of scripture describes for us one of the manifestations of pride as it often occurs in human beings. For Darius to sign a law prohibiting any person from asking a request of any man or god, is the equivalent of lifting himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped. But worst yet is the signing of the decree into the law of the Medes and Persians which as they purported, cannot change. For any nation to presume to be above fault, so that its laws cannot be changed is to usurp the very prerogatives of God, since He is the only one who can truly make the claim of never changing, for He is perfect in all His ways. Let's read:
Deuteronomy 32:3 Because I will publish the name of the Lord: ascribe ye greatness unto our God. 4 He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.
Malachi 3:6 For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.
Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
There is a religious denomination whose leaders claim infallibility, and rather than retract obvious conflicting statements and flawed decrees, they prefer to enforce religious dogmas that are in blatant contradiction to the scriptures, and by this stubborn refusal to recant erroneous theories and doctrines, they lead millions of unsuspecting subscribers to the brink of destruction. The mindset that thinks of oneself as only being right, represents one of the worst forms of self-righteousness, and is consequently productive of the worst evils. When Caiaphas and his cohorts were confronted with the undeniable truth of Lazarus' resurrection, they still clung to their erroneous belief, that Christ was not the Messiah, and rather than admit that they were in the wrong by confessing their sin both privately and publicly, they instead sought to slay both Lazarus and Christ. Let's read:
John 12:9 Much people of the Jews therefore knew that he was there: and they came not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might see Lazarus also, whom he had raised from the dead. 10 But the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death; 11 Because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away, and believed on Jesus.
And in our own personal experiences, similar manifestations of pride may take place when we swear by heaven and earth that we will do something that is wrong, of which we are completely ignorant, yet after careful thought, when the realities of that which we have spoken and committed to begin to take shape, we realize like Darius that we have indeed overstepped our bounds, but because of pride, we go ahead any way in a course of action that is contrary to the principles of righteousness, rather than humble ourselves by admitting we were wrong. When Darius realized the deadly plot that was laid for the feet of his faithful servant Daniel, he should have recanted from a wrong course of action rather than let a foolish decree stand, and thereby potentially cost the life of an innocent person.
Someone gets engaged to another and promises that no matter what, they are going to get married. Plans are made and the proposed wedding is greatly publicized, but as time goes by, serious flaws in character surface in the other individual, and it is discovered that there are irreconcilable differences, and unforeseen problems looming on the horizon, yet because of the promise made, and the eager expectation of friends and family, they decide to tie the knot, and because of a refusal to admit that they have erred in judgment, both of them end up going "nuts".
Whenever we realize that we have inadvertently committed to something, or may have ignorantly made a serious mistake, we should be humble enough to retract what we have sworn to do, rather than proceed with an obviously evil course of action, for it is better to change course midstream rather than proceed in a downward direction that will cost us much more in the end. We therefore end with a passage of scripture that encourages us to walk humbly with God in all things, and if we have spoken unadvisedly with our lips, let us be willing to confess and turn around, instead of manifesting a stubborn pride that could be catastrophic in the future. Let's read:
Proverbs 3:7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil. 8 It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones. 12 For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth. 13 Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.
May God add His blessing to the study and doing of His word. "Good night" and God bless!