Daniel 2:24 NIV
Then Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to execute the wise men of Babylon, and said to him, "Do not execute the wise men of Babylon. Take me to the king, and I will interpret his dream for him."
Daniel was in a great strategic position. Able to not only interpret Nebuchadnezzar's dream, but to tell the king what the dream was, Daniel could have easily sat back and allowed the king to execute everyone except himself and his three friends. That would automatically have positioned the four of them as the most powerful men in the kingdom next to Nebuchadnezzar. Or, if Daniel was even more power hungry, it would have been quite easy for him to remain quiet and allow the king to kill all of the other wise men in Babylon, including his three friends. But that never occurred to Daniel. Instead, before he even told the king about the dream, he asked Arioch that none of the others be executed. Daniel took care of the needs of others before he did anything else.
Thinking of others first is something that can be practiced every day, not just when a crisis comes along. At the office, when you decide to go to the snack bar to get a soft drink or cup of coffee, how often do you ask your co-workers if you can bring them something? At church, do you volunteer to take some of the burden off your leaders? At home, which do you think of first, playing ball with your son for a half hour or making sure you catch the 6:00 news? You're all comfy on your sofa, ready to watch a movie that you've been waiting all week to see when a friend calls and wants you to come over to talk. What do you do?
Every time you start to put yourself and your own needs first, think of what Jesus did for you. If He had put His own needs first, He would never have even come to earth, much less have allowed Himself to be crucified for you. Now how important is that movie?
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