Yesterday I watched the movie A Night’s Tale for the umpteenth time, and in the classic ending where the hero beats the bad guy, makes his dad proud, and gets the girl, they paraphrase a quote from the Bible:

You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting. – Daniel 5:27 NKJV

The Biblical context for this verse is the famous “handwriting on the wall” passage where the king of Babylon, Belshazzar, took the gold and silver vessels from the Temple and used them for a party in his palace. He brazenly, and blantantly used sacred things dedicated for use in the service to God, and for that use alone, for sinful purposes.

The moral of the Biblical story, and also A Night’s Tale, is that “pride goes before a fall”. If we take the gifts that God has given us, and then lift ourselves above God, sooner or later we will be weighed in the balances of the justice of God.

First off, thank you to all of our @bibleornot Twitter followers. Your interest, direct messages, retweets, and comments are much appreciated. And thank you to those sharing their own Bible quotes and famous sayings.

This weekend a Bible verse was suggested by @Danneel831 that I found interesting.

With our tongue we will prevail; our lips are our own; who is lord over us?

Hmmm, is the tongue (not the pen) in fact mightier than the sword? Is that what the Word of God says? Let’s take this verse in context:

Help, LORD, for the godly man ceases! For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men. They speak idly everyone with his neighbor; With flattering lips and a double heart they speak. May the LORD cut off all flattering lips, And the tongue that speaks proud things, Who have said, “With our tongue we will prevail; Our lips are our own; Who is lord over us?” – Psalms 12:1-4

This is a description of the world King David lived in, and it should not surprise us that it is not much different than the world we live in today. This passage describes a world in which pride and self interest prevail. Compare the attitude described in the verse to the behavior of our politicians; this is an accurate description of Congress and the White House – “if we say it, you should believe it. Our tongues will prevail.”

Such arrogance will not be tolerated by God as is evident throughout the Bible. Of the seven things God hates, pride is the number one offense. Let us hope that our nation can humble itself before God and be preserved for generations.

This quote reminds us to maintain a healthy humility. While self confidence is an admirable trait, there is a line between that and pride or arrogance.

It is unwise to be too sure of one’s own wisdom. It is healthy to be reminded that the strongest might weaken and the wisest might err.

Is this quote from the Bible’s book of Proverbs, or from some other secular or religious author?