It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty princes" ... 2 And over these three presidents; of whom Daniel was first" ... 3 Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm. 4 Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him. 5 Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God.
This passage of scripture clearly shows us that covetousness lies at the root of all sins, and it is the ruling principle that is the driving force behind most of the activities on this planet, even many of those that may seem to be charitable in nature. In this instance, the princes and presidents over whom Daniel was set up, began to search for faults in him, for no other reason than that he was promoted above themselves. This fact then drove them to closely investigate his taxes and his manner of doing business, but in every area where their sinister inquiries were directed, Daniel got a perfect score.
Finally, when all else failed, and they ran out of options, they decided to find fault with his religion, and went so far as to follow him to the prayer chamber, where they listened irreverently to his daily petitions to The God of heaven. But instead of joining with him in his oblations to God, they left the prayer room with only malice and fault-finding on their minds, determined to bring about his demise on account of his faithfulness. Let's read:
Daniel 6:6 Then these presidents and princes assembled together to the king, and said thus unto him, King Darius, live for ever. 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.
It's mind-boggling to see what lengths individuals are willing to go to, in order to malign those who are trying by the grace of God to walking uprightly. But covetousness and envy know no bounds, and when these evil desires are cherished and acted upon, fault-finding and accusations are the sure result, for these sentiments are what the devil thrives on, and therefore the same fruits will always be manifest in those who partake of the same spirit. Let's read:
Revelation 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. 10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
Now it is true that as Christians we are required to walk circumspectly in all areas of life, so that our characters and activities can withstand the closest scrutiny. Furthermore, it will be a good thing if the only fault others can find in us is prayer, for in this God will be greatly glorified. However, it's very important for us not to indulge in any form of fault-finding, whether it be valid or not, for the Bible states that they which do such things are themselves guilty of much greater wrongs than they see in others, and it is for this reason that Christ gave us a warning against covetousness, the foundation principle behind every type of evil. Let's read:
Matthew 7:3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? 4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? 5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.
In the turbulent political climate in which we now live, the same error of fault-finding is to be seen, and many so-called religious candidates often pride themselves on their ability to find fault with their opponents, and thereby tear them down, deliberately misinterpreting their actions, motives, and intentions. The situation has now reached a boiling point where nothing that a candidate's rival can do is right, and like the presidents and princes of Daniel's day, the accusations follow the leaders into the prayer room. Thus character-assassination has become the order of the day, and people are trained to use their spiritual discernment to seek out the errors and faults in others, just so that they can be honored and exalted above their fellows.
As Christians we are called upon to live above the fray, and we are instructed to adopt and implement better principles than those that are employed by the adversary of souls and his agencies. In other words, if for instance we find ourselves in a situation where someone less qualified is promoted above us, we should be happy for the individual, and should do all we can to assist them in their new office of responsibility, instead of joining with those "Presidents, princes, and co-workers" who desire to see the promoted one fail. The name "Christian" means little Christ, and as such we should be willing by the grace of God to follow where Jesus has led the way.
We therefore end with a passage of scripture that encourages us to cultivate a humble spirit, in honor preferring one another, so that the love of God can be shed abroad in the hearts of all those we come in contact with. Let's read:
Philippians 2:3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. 4 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. 5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
May God add His blessing to the study and practice of His every word. God bless!