Daniel 4:1-37

When we think of the personification of “pride”, our natural connection is the lion.  We think of the male sitting, regally, overlooking the land.  I’ve seen many a man who imitates this bearing in the real world!

Yet, while we often find ourselves casting our eyes to the horizon, watching for dangers and interlopers, in most cases, we find our destruction comes from within.  It’s much like Christ, Himself stated in Mark 7:

20 And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. 21 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” (Mark 7:20-22) 

In truth, destruction more often comes from within—we spend so much of our lives building the structure of our lives only to bring about or own destruction!  And as we look to Daniel 4, we see that this character trait is not unique to the modern American!