Daniel:: Character in Chaos

In high school I needed to take 2 years of a foreign language to graduate. 80% of the school took Spanish. We were in California so it made the most sense to learn a language that you would be far more likely to use. So obviously I took 2 years of French.

My primary interest in taking French was satisfied on the first day when I learned to say the one phrase I took the class to learn.

Je suis un opérateur lisse.
I am a smooth operator.

I was positive that this was my ticket to endless dating possibilities.

You will surely be shocked to learn that I did not have a single girlfriend in high school. Please pick your jaw up from the floor.

My experience in French class was brutal. I had no real interest in learning the language and my education consisted of being given a packet at the beginning of the week, doing it in class all week and taking a quiz on Friday. My teacher quickly became a foe to be vanquished. If I could have led a coup d'état in class, I would have.

When my grade would reflect my level of investment in the class I would place all the blame at my teacher's feet.

She wasn't interested in actually teaching us the language.
She stifles my creative spirit.
She gives us unfair quizzes on subjects we haven't adequately covered.
She hasn't taught me the French art of mime even once.

What I experienced in that class is something that I've felt the temptation to do many times since then. Is something going poorly? Blame the person in charge. Anything that goes wrong couldn't possibly be a reflection of me, but a reflection of someone further up the chain of command.

This Sunday we are starting a brand new message series on the book of Daniel. My hope is that this series will help shine a light on the power that we have in life. I have found that the most terrible tyrant blocking God's best exists within me. Daniel shows a path for God's people that doesn't allow the circumstances or interferences from people with more power derail what God is building in our midst.