Taking credit for things is something that I think all people tend to do. When we build something that we’re proud of, we take credit for it. When we cook a good meal, we take credit for it. When we earn a big check from our jobs, we take credit for it. In our country, we are trained to feel entitled to getting credit for things. But what about giving credit?
In the book of Daniel, we see a guy who was accustomed to giving God the credit for his success. In this book, Daniel and three other guys are promoted up to work for the king. In Daniel 2 this king has a crazy dream and he is trying to figure out what it means. After going through all of his magicians, conjurers, and wise men, the king decides they need to be killed because they couldn’t interpret the kings dream. Well, Daniel decided to pray to God and ask for the ability to interpret this dream for the king (Daniel 2:18). Once it was revealed, Daniel ran to and convinced the king to give him and his friends a chance to interpret the dream. He told the king that “there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries and has revealed it to him.” Daniel immediately recited the dream and then told the king exactly what it meant. At the end of this interpretation, Daniel gives the credit to God, “the great God has made known to the king what will take place in the future” (Daniel 2:45).
Now Daniel could have easily said, “Your welcome king, I’m here all week to interpret your dreams.” Daniel could have taken all of the credit for this, but he didn’t. He gave credit to God. And the kings response was to honor God for what had been done. In Daniel 2:47 the king said, “Surely your God is a God of gods and a Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, since you have been able to reveal this mystery.”
How many times in our life does something great happen, and we forget to give God the credit? When good things happen in our lives, when we get a promotion, when we get that extra money that helped us afford rent this month, when we sit down under our nice roofed homes with A/C and heat and eat a hot meal three times a day, are we giving the credit to God? We would do well to learn from Daniel. God is in control of everything, and He is the one who deserves all credit. Give Him credit where it’s due.
— Kolton Ballance
