"The cool kids"
But Daniel was determined not to defile himself by eating the food and wine given to them by the king. He asked the chief of staff for permission not to eat these unacceptable foods. (Daniel 1:8 NLT)
Everyone knows the story of Hananiah, Mishael, & Azariah right? Never heard of them? That's because they are not known by their Hebrew names but by their Babylonian names, Shadrach, Meshach, & Abednego. Oh & Daniel too.
Daniel chapter 1 tells us that they were the cool kids. Remember the cool kids in school? The popular kids? I admired them from afar at the Christian/dork table. We had the jocks, the goths, the cheerleaders, the band nerds, the popular kids, & the Christians. Daniel & his friends were the popular kids. Good-looking & voted "most likely to succeed."
It was for this purpose they were selected to go to Babylon to serve in king Nebuchadnezzar's court. They were taken captive because of the people's constant lifestyle of disobedience to God. But not every person was living a life opposed to God. In fact, Daniel was radically committed to God.
He was a teenager that loved God enough to obey him, even when it came to his diet. He did not want to defile himself with the kings food even if the results were negative. He was willing to risk his life to obey God. It was that important. Daniel may have been the first ever Christian/popular kid! A rare sight indeed!
The key to Daniel's obedience was his preparedness. Verse 8 says, "He purposes in his heart not to defile himself." He was in a pagan land. It's not like anyone was watching. He had his friends but no one from home would know. God had forsaken them by letting them be captured, right? So why be faithful to a faithless God?
And yet Daniel was resolved to be obedient. Even in the small things. Even when it came to food. He chose God's best for him, even in a difficult place to do so.
Jon Acuff, in his book Quitter, says that determining to start a new practice in our lives leads to "the discussion." Like when we came back from youth camp determined to wake up 30 minutes early every day before school to have a quiet time. And when that alarm goes off, we start the discussion with ourselves. "Just hit snooze. It's ok. Start tomorrow," the voice inside echos. Acuff says that we have to avoid "the discussion" by determining beforehand what we will do & tell ourselves, "Oh, I'm sorry, that decision has already been made." That way when the time comes, we do what we need to do.
This is the pattern of Daniel & his friends. They were ready for the discussion. "Oh, sorry Babylon, we already decided that we were going to obey our God no matter what. So, we aren't defiling ourselves with your food."
What about your life? In what areas are you regularly having "the discussion?" Where are we negotiating with non-negotiables?
Relationships? Finances? Family? Career? Where is God calling us to obedience and where can we end the discussion now so that we don't defile ourselves?
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