What do these three biblical characters -- Nebuchadnezzar, Haman, and Herod Agrippa -- have in common? If you guessed that they were engaged in governing the people and had huge egos, you are correct, and if you went one step further and said each found himself punished or humbled, even suffering death (Haman and Herod) for his outsize self-image, then you would be right yet again. The story of Haman (Esther chapters 3 thru 7) is particularly notable, because his effort to secure for himself everyone’s veneration was defied by just one man, and yet that one man’s moral stand was something that Haman could not tolerate, leading to an attempt to exterminate the entire Jewish people in the Achaemenid-Persian kingdom of Xerxes. Mordecai and Esther and all the other Jews survived this power play by Haman, whose evil plot was exposed by Queen Esther (see that moment depicted in this 1888 Painting, Esther Denouncing Haman, by Ernest Normand), leading to his execution on the gallows that, ironically, he had planned for Mordecai. The other two characters, Nebuchadnezzar and Herod Agrippa met their own punishments – Herod would die suddenly of worm infestation (Acts 12:21-23), and Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel chapters 3 and 4) would suffer humiliation and witness the power of the true God. Read the biblical accounts and see if you think their wish to replace or grab some of God’s glory was important in what happened to them. It's almost a rhetorical question, isn’t it? Of course, the God of the Jews would not stand by and allow such an abomination. The Ten Commandments, as this blogger has detailed in many previous entries, are full of God’s expectation that His people would honor Him alone. Any worship of an idol or someone other than the true God is out of the question. And so, in the world of politics and ethics in our 21st Century, what is a reasonable expectation that We the People have for our own elected leaders?
Perhaps people in positions of power are more at risk, because power can corrupt the man (or woman) so easily. Humility is therefore a valuable, and necessary character trait. American leaders, as heads-of-state and leaders of the free world, and overseers of the world’s largest economy, have had a heavy responsibility. Not the least of these is somehow to toe the line in respecting the office they hold, and acting within the bounds, legally and ethically, to work for the people’s good, and certainly not for their own aggrandizement. From AI on the computer -- The Emoluments Clause is a U.S. Constitutional provision (Article I, Section 9, Clause 8) that bars federal officials, including the President, from accepting gifts, payments, or titles (emoluments) from foreign states or their rulers without congressional approval, preventing foreign influence and corruption; there's also a related Domestic Emoluments Clause (Article II) limiting presidential pay from states/federal government, with both clauses serving to ensure officials prioritize national interests over personal financial gain, as highlighted by recent lawsuits against President Trump. The founders were very aware that a president could accrue too much power, and thus elevate himself as a monarch or for personal gain, and the emoluments clause was indicative of that awareness. A president whose ego allowed him to find loopholes in the Constitution, and acquire honors to match his self-image, would be someone that the founders would think is dangerous. Such a man would be prone to self-congratulatory behavior, even self-glorification, and capable of dominating those in his own party so that they would feed his ego and gain his invaluable support in the election cycles. And if you don’t, the reverse can be a death-blow, politically, as one of this president’s formerly staunchest allies has discovered. How dangerous is such a man?
Has such a man gone too far, when he decides he can change the name of institutions like the Kennedy Center? Or, what about naming a new class of Navy ships after himself? As others and the record of history shows, a president’s name is normally used after he leaves office, or even posthumously to honor him on buildings, streets, places, or ships; to do so oneself while still in office is indecorous. Such honors are reserved for those who have completed their service and are judged by others to be worthy of remembrance. What if such a leader slings mud on the historical record of previous presidents, including repeating baseless lies, by installing plaques in the White House to besmirch them; does he somehow believe this is credible and appropriate behavior? How does such a leader come to his senses? Nebuchadnezzar had dreams that troubled him, and sought the advice of Daniel. Pilate’s wife also had dreams that led her to warn him that Jesus should be avoided; let him go, she said, in effect. The Omniscient One can act in any way He thinks is necessary to get the attention of someone, including a leader who is behaving with too much ego; is a dream or two in this president’s future? Would he be willing to listen and seek advice if he did have some nighttime visions? Better to have dreams and try to discover the message/s, rather than living out a nightmare and dragging a nation along on the journey. God has reserved honor for Himself, and this nation under God (as it says on our money) has too many people who believe in this principle to ignore the trend we are witnessing.
Renaming of the JFK Center: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c79x0x7v70go
New Navy-class ships: https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/23/politics/trump-battleships-golden-fleet-kennedy-center-analysis
New presidential plaques in White House: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8e9jexe5k8o
Read here about the consequences of turning on a powerful president: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/07/congress-republicans-tease-trump-marjorie-taylor-greene
See information on the image here: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Esther_Denouncing_Haman.jpg... The author died in 1923, so this work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 100 years or fewer. This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1930. Find the image inside this article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haman
