One of my favorite movies growing up was the original version of “The Wizard of Oz”. I loved the part where “The Great and Powerful Oz” gets exposed as being nothing more than a mere man. One of the most famous lines in the movie comes when the “Great Wizard of Oz” is being visited by some of the main characters and it becomes evident to them that the image of this larger than life, scary wizard is being controlled by a small man behind a curtain. When the man recognizes that he has been exposed, he yells in his authoritative wizard voice, “Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.” I was thinking about this movie this week as I was reading the book of Daniel (don’t look for the connection….it is just the way my mind works 
). While reading, I noted various accounts of Daniel’s success such as: “19 The king talked with them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king’s service. 20 In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom” – Daniel 1:19-20 “46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell prostrate before Daniel and paid him honor and ordered that an offering and incense be presented to him. 47 The king said to Daniel, “Surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you were able to reveal this mystery.” 48 Then the king placed Daniel in a high position and lavished many gifts on him. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and placed him in charge of all its wise men.” – Daniel 2:46-48 “29 Then at Belshazzar’s command, Daniel was clothed in purple, a gold chain was placed around his neck, and he was proclaimed the third highest ruler in the kingdom.” – Daniel 5:29 Daniel became notorious, and received many commendations and a significant amount of authority. The interesting thing to note is that his success only came because God was with him and enabled Daniel to do things that other human beings could not. As it turned out, although Daniel was seen as great, and he became powerful, God was behind the scenes allowing this ordinary man to have extraordinary abilities. A significant difference between Daniel and the man who portrayed himself as a great Wizard in The Wizard of Oz, is that Daniel did not look to deceive anyone, or bring any glory to himself As an example of this, in one instance, when Daniel had just come to understand the dream of a king that no one else could know he said, 20 “Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his.21 He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. 22 He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him. 23 I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors: You have given me wisdom and power, you have made known to me what we asked of you, you have made known to us the dream of the king.”,- Daniel 2:20-23 Daniel got it right. He praised God and declared His attributes. He spoke of His power and knowledge. He said nothing about his own abilities. All glory went to God. When we succeed at something, it is easy to draw attention to ourselves and look for praise. It is a temptation that many have fallen into without any acknowledgment to the God who made and gifted them. How much better to follow Daniel’s example and praise God for what He equips us to do. To Him be the glory! Let’s pay and bring attention to our “man behind the curtain” who is no impostor, but the Great and Powerful God. For Him, Rob