The War Within

When you look into the mirror, do you see a divine being crafted by God for His purposes or do you see an animal that has no divine purpose other than to gratify itself with life’s pleasures?  The answer to that question identifies to which group you belong in the current culture war that is going on worldwide.  God’s people strive to elevate the spiritual nature of humans above the physical so that they can better serve their creator while evil people live for the here and now.

 Animals live for the moment and pay no attention to consequences.  They care little about tomorrow and what tomorrow provides.  They are self-centered and live in delusional worlds of their own making designed to insulate themselves from the consequences of their behavior.  They resent God and any divine plan that exists.  Their whole goal is to get what they can and elevate themselves above all else.

How does the transition from human being to animal occur?  There is a classic example recorded for us in the Bible in Daniel chapter 4 regarding Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon.  In the beginning of the chapter King Nebuchadnezzar is a human being praising God - “How great are His signs and how mighty are His wonders!  His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom and His dominion is from generation to generation” (Daniel 4:3 NASB).  The King then had a dream of a great tree being cut down that made him fearful and he called in Daniel to interpret his dream.  In his dream the great tree was cut down by an angel from heaven and only the stump was left.  The angel shouted in verse 16, “Let his mind be changed from that of a man and let a beast’s mind be given to him”.  It is clear from this verse that God had ordered an angel from heaven to change King Nebuchadnezzar’s mind from a man’s to an animal’s.

Daniel reluctantly interpreted the dream to the king that the great tree in the dream represented the King himself.  Daniel went on to advise the king to turn away from his sins and do righteousness (Daniel 4:27) so that the king’s prosperity might be lengthened and the judgment avoided.  However the king failed to listen to Daniel’s advice and 1 year later boasted in pride in Daniel 4:30 “Is this not Babylon the great, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?”  Then Daniel 4:31 states “While the word was in the king’s mouth, a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is declared: sovereignty has been removed from you, and you will be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling place will be with the beasts of the field.  You will be given grass to eat like cattle, and seven periods of time will pass over you until you recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes.” (NASB)  The judgment was fulfilled and the king acted like an animal until he again acknowledged Almighty God in verse 34 “But at the end of that period, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever”(NASB).  The kingdom was restored to the king once he recognized that his authority really came from God and not himself.

Just like King Nebuchadnezzar, the choice to be a human being or an animal is up to each of us.  God created us with both a divine spiritual nature and an animal physical nature.  These two natures constantly struggle for dominance.  The nature that we choose to feed will dominate who we become whether a human in God's image or an animal.  It depends on whether we acknowledge God’s authority over us or try to make ourselves the ultimate authority.  The choice is ours.

When you look in the mirror, if you are an animal, acknowledge God before it is too late.  Otherwise God will send heavenly angels to remove what little common sense you have left.  If you are currently a human being, do not let pride get the best of you like King Nebuchadnezzar did.  Instead, keep humbly serving God by doing right and standing for truth.  Your example and truthful words could be used by God to bring the animals surrounding you to repentance.  For human beings it is nearly impossible to get animals to behave and pay attention.  It is a task that only divine intervention from above can accomplish!