As we discussed yesterday, when Daniel was faced with the chance to defy and disrespect the people who hurt him (a choice that many would deem as “just”, he didn’t.  He did the right thing when it wasn’t easy, when it may not have felt right.  When we open the book of Daniel, this (what we discussed yesterday) is basically where it starts.  But Daniel’s story begins long before that.  His story begins where my story and your story is beginning — in the wilderness, in hidden places where it seems like no one is watching us.  But you know as well as I do that how we live now matters. God is watching us.  For Daniel, how he responded to adversity in the wilderness affected his attitude when he stepped into the palace.  And from the kind of attitude he depicts from the earliest references of him shows us that he most likely wasn’t the kind of kid who smarted off to his parents, told someone one thing and did another, rebelled against his teachers, or went around breaking the law.  He obviously had his head on straight.  He was highly educated.  He wasn’t a doormat (if he was, he would have eaten food that defied God, rather than ask permission to eat a special diet).  He knew right from wrong.  But he also knew a thing or two about what Solomon told us to write on our hearts: Loyalty and kindness.

Never let loyalty and kindness get away from you!  Wear them like a necklace; write them deep within your heart.  Then you will find favor with both God and people, and you will gain a good reputation (Proverbs 3:3-4 NLT).

Daniel not only wore loyalty and kindness as a necklace and wrote them on his heart — he also saw the promised results: favor with God and people, and a good reputation.

Alright, alright, I get it.  Now get to the point. (I hear you.

So what’s the point?  You’re it.  Your life right here, right now.  I know what goes through our minds when we read a story like Daniel’s: Ok, sounds good.  As soon as I get to the palace, I’ll keep that in mind. But the palace is the end result!  The only reason Daniel had what it took when he got there is because he started living right when he was where you and I are right now.  You think respecting and honoring and being loyal to wicked, hateful people is easy?  Of course you don’t think that.  But how about that parent that drives you up the wall?  What about that boss that is rude, overbearing and hard to get along with?  And don’t think I’m excluding myself in this.  I’m right in there next to you!  If we can’t learn to respect people that get on our nerves a little bit, what makes us think that loving a wicked ruler will be any easier?  Now, I do realize that practically none of us will end up in the palace of a wicked ruler.  But don’t you think for a second that any of the people you look up to who are right now where you want to be someday skated there unscathed on thin ice.  No, they had to be around ugly people too.  David, Joseph, Daniel, Esther, Paul, Jesus.  God has a habit of using difficult people like sandpaper in our lives, to smooth away our imperfections and shape us into who He made us to be.

It miffs me that this is part three and we haven’t even got to the good parts of Daniel’s story yet.  But if you’re anything like me, you go too fast.  You want the whole story.  You want the big picture.  So you zoom through it quickly and then move right onto the next story.  Listen, if we want to be the people God’s created us to be, we gotta slow down.  I think it would do some of us a great deal of good to chew on one scripture or one chapter for a month until we get it, rather than zooming through the Bible, trying to store up as much head knowledge as possible. If we aren’t living it, then we haven’t learned it.  So this is where we’re camping for today.  And tomorrow, if you really mean business, come back…. and we’ll take an even deeper look at this together.

Tags: Daniel, honor, loyalty, Proverbs 3:3-4, respect

Trackback URI | Comments RSS