The Choice

The book of Daniel continues to prove itself a book full of life lessons even in terms of discipleship. After Judah was captured Nebuchadnezzar called his “chief of staff” and told him to get the brightest, strongest and best looking (?) men from Jehoiakim’s house and teach them to be his advisors. Daniel was among these as were 3 of his friends (Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah) who would later become to be know as Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. They were taken apart from the rest of the captives, given Babylonian names, given the Babylonian education, and they ate from the king’s table and from his cellars. Essentially what they tried to do was brainwash these young men into forgetting their culture and into becoming Babylonian. They wanted to make them into Babylonian elite. They changed their names from names that all represented a quality of God into names that celebrated the Babylonian Gods. They fed them food from the king’s table which was far from the diet and food practices that was allowed under their law they had grown up with. They tried to educate them into becoming Babylonian.

This is important because as Christians this is exactly what the world tries to do to us. The world tries to educate the belief we have in God out of us since its science cannot prove his existence. The world feeds us from its table of self gratification, immorality, lawlessness. It tries to change our name from that of being of the family of God into one that celebrates itself. While there is nothing wrong with a secular education or the learning from the secular world, there is something wrong with it when it starts to negatively impact and influence on your faithfulness to God. Daniel and his friends were faced with just that decision.

Daniel had a choice to make: would he give in to the opportunities the king was presenting him or would he remain faithful to the practices and the God he had always known. Verse 8 of chapter one said that Daniel made up his mind that he would not be defiled. That is an important point to look at. We simply cannot hide in a dark corner and hope that the world will not notice us so we will not be subject to its influence. Rather we need to stand out in the world and stand up and announce that we choose to not be defiled by the world we are surrounded by. Defilement is a choice. Its like being in a pool. You can be in the deep end of the pool and even under water. You are completely surrounded by water but it is not penetrating you. The water does not enter your body until you open your mouth or unplug your nose and let it in. The world cannot defile us or influence us until we let it inside our mind, heart or spirit.

Father I thank you for Your guidance and Your strength. I pray Lord that I would be aware constantly of the influences that surround me and always aware that I may be here now, but this world is not my home. Amen.