{"id":24990,"date":"2020-08-21T10:55:15","date_gmt":"2020-08-21T15:55:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=24990"},"modified":"2020-08-21T10:55:15","modified_gmt":"2020-08-21T15:55:15","slug":"our-allegiance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/our-allegiance\/","title":{"rendered":"Our Allegiance"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t

by Doy Moyer<\/p>\n

Arrogance and haughtiness do not appeal to God\u2019s people. Rather, humility and love do, for this is what characterizes our Lord; this is the way of the cross. We must not applaud the conceit and selfish ambition of those in powerful positions lest we find ourselves bowing to the idols that are the fruit of such arrogance and power.<\/p>\n

When Daniel came face to face with the arrogance and power of Nebuchadnezzar, he was respectful, but he declared the truth that there was a kingdom much greater than anything Nebuchadnezzar could imagine. When Daniel\u2019s three friends faced the idol that came from Nebuchadnezzar\u2019s selfish ambition, they would not bow down. They chose the path of ridicule and suffering over the ease of kowtowing to the one who thought of himself as the greatest ruler ever. Only God would exalt the humble.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Daniel Interpreting Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream Daniel 4<\/p><\/div>\n

It doesn\u2019t matter how much Nebuchadnezzar did for Babylon: \u201cIs not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?\u201d Babylon may have \u201cgreat,\u201d and Nebuchadnezzar may have been powerful, but his arrogance brought him down and marked him as God\u2019s enemy. He was still accountable to the God of gods, and he had to be brought low to recognize this. It has ever been so.<\/p>\n

Christians are never to lend support to evil, and they are not puppets for the arrogant and powerful. The conceited rulers, no matter what they accomplish, are still enemies of the cross of Christ\u2014and this contrast is vital to understand for Christians trying to maneuver through a fallen world. For these enemies,<\/p>\n

\u201cTheir end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself<\/em>\u201d (Philippians 3:19-21).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Never lose sight of our ultimate allegiance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Doy Moyer Arrogance and haughtiness do not appeal to God\u2019s people. Rather, humility and love do, for this is what characterizes our Lord; this is the way of the cross. We must not applaud the conceit and selfish ambition of those in powerful positions lest we find ourselves bowing to the idols that are…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[463,996,126],"class_list":["post-24990","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-humility","tag-loyalty","tag-pride"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3876,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/lacking-arrogance\/","url_meta":{"origin":24990,"position":0},"title":"Lacking Arrogance","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 7, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey Hamilton Text: Psalms 131 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Psalms 131 is one of 15 psalms which are titled \u201cSong of Ascent.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It is commonly believe that these were pilgrimage songs, sung while the people journeyed up to Jerusalem for the major feasts. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0This particular psalm was written by David and expresses\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":94456,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-does-godly-leadership-look-like\/","url_meta":{"origin":24990,"position":1},"title":"What Does Godly Leadership Look Like?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 9, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer In short, it looks like the love the Lord shows. The husband is to love his wife \"just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her\" (Ephesians 5:25). Leadership that does not do this is not godly, but selfish. Godly leadership is not tyrannical. It\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7979,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-does-it-mean-to-be-converted-and-become-like-children\/","url_meta":{"origin":24990,"position":2},"title":"What does it mean to be converted and become like children?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 11, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Would you please elaborate on what it means to be \"converted and become like children\" as stated in Matthew 18:1-4? Answer: \"At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, \"Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?\" Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":47287,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/people-are-just-like-me\/","url_meta":{"origin":24990,"position":3},"title":"People Are Just Like Me","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 7, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer People often assume that others will act, react, and operate on the same basis that they do. If some are liars, they will assume the same of everyone else. If they operate \"in the shadows,\" they will assume the same of others. If they are the envious\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":41851,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/truth-about-submission\/","url_meta":{"origin":24990,"position":4},"title":"Truth about Submission","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 12, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer Submission has taken a bad rap in today's world. It is seen as terrible and abusive, and, sadly, that portrayal has often been justified by how people treat one another. The lack of kindness in today's world is disturbing. People have misused submission through selfish applications that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":83931,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/we-may-have-confidence\/","url_meta":{"origin":24990,"position":5},"title":"We May Have Confidence","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 1, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton Everything is not up for question and doubt. There are some things we can know and be certain about. John says we \"may have confidence\" (I John 2:28) at His coming. He says, \"By this we know that we know Him\" (I John 2:3). We can\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24990","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24990"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24990\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24990"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24990"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24990"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}