Daniel 1:8 “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.”
I Corinthians 5:6-7 “Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us”
Daniel demonstrated determined obedience to obey God fully, even in the midst of a strange and foreign land. Though he asked his captor for the chance to participate in an innovative experiment to prove that God would provide for his nutritional needs (see the previous post), there is no indication that Daniel’s bargain indicated that he would ever relent to any rules that opposed his Godly principles. In fact, everything about Daniel’s life indicate just the opposite. He was willing to stand for what was right even when it was difficult and costly because he had purposed in his heart that he would do so.
Daniel knew a couple of related important principles of determined obedience. First, he knew that resisting temptation was easier to do before the temptation is at its most powerful. Thus, he determined to live for God before he faced the greatest of his trials. Second, he knew that a little compromise would lead to bigger compromises. Therefore, he avoided even the tiniest of leaven in his life.
The results of this determined obedience provided Daniel an opportunity to uniquely impact his Babylon. PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERICAN CHRISTIANS WOULD DEMONSTRATE LIVES CHARACTERIZED BY DETERMINED OBEDIENCE TO GOD. A determined obedience would provide us an opportunity to uniquely impact our Babylon today.
