MENE MENE TEKEL PARSIN

Or Who Moved My Cheese?

Bet THIS title caught your eye. Know where it comes from? I was rereading “Who Moved My Cheese?” this morning (you can read a copy on my website at www.MacIsIrish.com (CHEESE link)), and came across the part in this short book about “The Handwriting On The Wall”. This reminded me of a story in the Bible in the book of Daniel—we’ll get to this shortly, but real quickly, let’s talk about “Who Moved My Cheese?” by Dr. Spencer Johnson. If you have not read this book yet, I HIGHLY recommend it. Although designed to help people make better careers for themselves, it is also tremendously encouraging to people who need help in marriages and their walks with God. It’s a story about Sniff and Harry (two mice) and Hem and Haw (2 miniature people) who live in a maze and were content with their own type of cheese. One day, things changed and the cheese that was given to them everyday didn’t appear; so they relegated themselves to finding NEW cheese (or as the little people called it, NEW Cheese (with a capital C)). During their searches for this staple of life, Haw (the braver of the two little people) wrote some things on a wall he had learned during his exhaustive search. Things like “Change Happens-They Keep Moving My Cheese”, “Anticipate Change-Get Ready for the Cheese to Move”, “Monitor Change-Smell the Cheese Often So You Know When It is Getting Old”, “Enjoy Change – Savor the Adventure and Enjoy the Taste of New Cheese”, etc etc. You GOTTA read this book if you have not already done so. But now, let’s go to the Bible and read another story about “The Handwriting On The Wall”. MENE MENE TEKEL PARSIN

Take some time now to read Daniel 5 (all verses, 1 – 31). Come back when done. J

To summarize: The Babylonian king, Belshazzar, son of Nebuchadnezzar who was ‘given the mind of an animal’ because he became arrogant and prideful, was celebrating with his cronies when a human finger appeared out of the air and inscribed MENE MENE TEKEL PARSIN in the plaster on the wall. Scared and not knowing what this apparition wrote, he called for all his experts who also failed to gain any understanding of it. So then, he finally found Daniel who promptly told the king that 1: His days as king are numbered and the end is close at hand (MENE), 2: he has fallen short of God’s expectations (TEKEL) and 3: his kingdom was to be split between two peoples, Medes and Persians. Then he died that very night.

Belshazzar’s ‘Cheese’, his staple for living, was praising the gods of gold, silver, iron, bronze and other THINGS, instead of humbling himself before the TRUE God. David ‘moved his cheese’ by interpreting what God had written on that wall. He found out that Change Happens. We also need to learn this, if we have not already done so. Change happens all the time. In your home, in your workplace, in your church. We need not act like Belshazzar and start worshipping our things—our possessions, our jobs, or even our church services. They will change. We need to concentrate on thanking God for all He as given us in these areas. We have homes and families, we have jobs and we have places to congregate for worship. For all this, even though change is inevitable, we need to be humble and thankful, unlike Belshazzar.

Belshazzar was told by Daniel that he was found wanting when compared to what God had expected. How about us? If we were measured right now by God, would we come up short? I am not talking about our ‘everyday’ sins from which we should be confessing, but overall. How are you in your real walk with God. Are you like a miniature person—small and unimpressive like Hem, or are you a Giant of a Man like Daniel? It is not difficult to measure up to Jesus….it is impossible to be just like Him, but because He knows this, He only expects us to be able to smell the cheese so we will know when our lives for Him are becoming stale.

Belshazzar was punished by God in two ways. He was killed and stripped of his kingdom, but before that happened, he knew that it would occur—a double punishment. The change that was about to occur in HIS life, he could not savor. He couldn’t enjoy this new cheese. And us? What changes are you expecting? Well, guess what….I’ll bet something ELSE changes in your lives, some things you NEVER expected. And when it does, take the time to enjoy it. If it SEEMS bad, ignore that feeling, and make it into something good. Have faith in God, no matter what it is, that it is for a good reason. Enjoy life, not matter what it throws at you.

Belshazzar had a hard heart and lived the life of an idol-worshipping pagan. Hem and Haw (those two wee folks in that short book I mentioned) learned to live with their problems. Haw learned quickly (as you will discover when you read this book), but Hem was a little slower and had a harder heart. But, in the end, they both ‘moved with their cheese’ and enjoyed it. I hope ya’ll don’t hem and haw about getting ready for whatever change is in your life. Wake up, read the writing on the wall, and humble yourselves before God. Your cheese will taste better.