Pastor's Post
Prosperity Leading to Pride

Daniel 4 is a letter from King Nebuchadnezzar to the subjects of his kingdom. His reason for writing was, “To show the
signs and wonders that the Most High God has done for me” (Dan 4:1). Chapter 4 is Nebuchadnezzar’s story of how
God judged him for pride. God wanted the king to “know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to
whom he will” (Dan 4:17). God’s judgment produced the desired results. At the end of his letter Nebuchadnezzar wrote,
“I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever, for his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
and his kingdom endures from generation to generation; all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and
he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his
hand or say to him, "What have you done” (Dan 4:34-35)? Nebuchadnezzar learned that God is the only sovereign.

This chapter contains a warning for all who enjoy prosperity. Prosperity can lead to pride. Verse 4 warns of the
dangers of affluence. First, notice the king’s affluence. “I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and prospering in
my palace.” Steven Miller states, “His building operations seem to have been concluded, there was peace throughout
the empire” (127). He continues, “The king was experiencing peace and prosperity on every hand. His opposition had
been subdued, and there was no serious threat to his authority” (130).

Second, notice his pride. For most of his life, Nebuchadnezzar had a god complex. Even after the miraculous
happenings of Daniel chapters 2 and 3 Nebuchadnezzar yet believed he was the sovereign. A year after being warned
by Daniel of God’s judgment, Nebuchadnezzar boasted, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty
power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty” (Dan 4:29-30). Nebuchadnezzar arrogantly believed that
he alone was responsible for his success.

Nebuchadnezzar is not alone in this. Is it possible that your affluence has led to pride? Maybe you have mistakenly
credited yourself for the success you enjoy in life. God warned Israel of this very thing. “Take care lest you forget the
LORD your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today, lest,
when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks
multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, then your heart be lifted up, and you
forget the LORD your God . . . Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me
this wealth.’ You shall remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth” (Deu 8:11-20).

It is not wrong to be prosperous (as long as it is through legal and ethical means) but it is wrong not to recognize that
prosperity is a gift from God. It is He who gives you power to get wealth.

Works Cited
Miller, Stephen R. Daniel. Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1994.
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by
Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.