In The Balance

oil, 20x30

Belshazzar profaned the sacred vessels of the Temple by using them for his own feast. The festivities were interrupted however when a hand appeared and wrote on the palace wall these words:
Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin
The prophet Daniel was summoned to interpret this prophecy and translated the words as "Weighed, weighed, judged, divided." Belshazzar was weighed in the balance and found wanting.

Thinking of the sacred vessels in our lives today--the Scriptures, our time, our worship--how often do we profane what is holy and dedicated to God by consuming it upon ourselves? How many Bibles lie untouched, covered with dust, nothing more than a status symbol? How many prayers go unsaid? How many lives go unlived?

If we were weighed in the balance, what would the judgment be?