Daniel 4:26, 27 “The command to leave the stump of the tree with its roots means that your kingdom will be restored to you when you acknowledge that Heaven rules. Therefore, Your Majesty, be pleased to accept my advice: Renounce your sins by doing what is right, and your wickedness by being kind to the oppressed. It may be that then your prosperity will continue.” (NIV)

Daniel 4:27 “So, king, take my advice: Make a clean break with your sins and start living for others. Quit your wicked life and look after the needs of the down-and-out. Then you will continue to have a good life.” (MSG)

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The Book of Daniel contains some of the most exhilarating stories in the Bible. The problem of reading this book in an annual reading plan is that the first six chapters go by so stinkin’ fast. It is well worth the investment to take these stories one at a time and ponder what they say and how they say it. 

If you haven’t read the first 25 verses of this chapter yet, you will definitely want to do so. If you haven’t read what comes after verse 27, you’re going to want to do that, too. 

But right here in these two verses, we find God’s verdict and his remedy. God gave Nebuchadnezzar great power, but as Spider-Man’s Uncle Ben likes to tell us, “With great power comes great responsibility.” Everyone needs an Uncle Ben in their lives, don’t they? Nebuchadnezzar had Daniel. Hopefully, if you don’t have an Uncle Ben, you do have a Daniel. 

Take a look at what God gives Daniel to say to Nebuchadnezzar. It’s really pretty simple. He says, 

1. Renounce your sins by doing what is right. 
2. Renounce your wickedness by being kind to the oppressed. 

Whatever we do, there will always be results. 

The result of the way Nebuchadnezzar had taken to living was that he got to spend a good deal of time with the mind and lifestyle of a wild animal. 

The result of repentance was a full restoration and a new resolution toward life.

Just so we don’t miss the meaning of this text, let’s pause and reflect on it a moment more. God tells Nebuchadnezzar that repentance requires kindness. 

Our son’s motto growing up was “Do the right thing.” Our daughter’s motto was “Be nice to everybody.” Now you know where those ideas came from. 

It’s okay to embrace these two mottos for yourself if necessary. You might even turn them into two questions to coach yourself. 

First, is this the right thing to do? 
Second, is this the kind thing to do? 

Of all the things God could have said to Nebuchadnezzar regarding how he lived and ruled, he told him to be kind. 

On a scale of one to ten, with 10 being the best, what number would you give your particular measure of kindness? Now, do it again and be honest. If you’re having a hard time being honest about it, ask God. You don’t have to be afraid of God telling you the truth about where you stand, unless, like Nebuchadnezzar, you’re not interested in repentance. 

God wants to take you from where you are to where you need to be. All the resources you need to live a life of kindness come from his heart and his hand to your life. He gives generously to everyone who asks. He will not withhold any good thing from you when you seek to deploy it in a manner that blesses others. 

So, what’s your number? 

What can you do today, depending on God’s strength and his gracious gifts, that will move you closer to a 10? Your kindness might change someone’s life today. It might change someone’s world. It might change the whole wide world. 

Kindness is like that. 

It changed Nebuchadnezzar from an animal into a humbled leader we still talk about 2,500 years later. Just imagine if our leaders acted less like animals . . . 

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I will do the right thing, and I will do it with kindness. 

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Our Father, empower me to do the right thing always and in every circumstance. Empower me to do it with kindness. You know the truth about where I stand in my measure of kindness right now. Take me from where I am to where I need to be. Somebody’s world probably depends on your kindness, mediated through me. I don’t know who that is. I don’t know how you will arrange those details, but I trust that you will. I would very much like to skip the animal phase of Nebuchadnezzar’s life by going straight to kindness. Fill my lack with your extravagant goodness. Amen.