Raising Wise Children

17 “All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. “No one can hold back his hand or say to him: ‘What have you done?’ “…Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble” (Daniel 4:34, 35 & 37, NIV). A God who does such things to conquer the heart of a proud king, is certainly someone to hold in reverent awe. But it seems to suggest even more. Perhaps the idea of regarding the Lord highly does still include some sense of dread at times, some sense of real fear the way the word is used most often today. How should we view the fallenness of our sinful and mortal bodies when standing in the presence of the most holy God? I think John Piper rightly helps us understand the correct balance: