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Daniel 6: 10
Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home
to his upstairs room where the window opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a
day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he
had done before. (NIV)
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Integrity is the ability to choose faithfulness while resisting compromise.* |
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Daniel’s
jealous Babylonian colleagues knew that the only way to trap Daniel was through
his religion. They appealed to the king’s vanity and persuaded him to pass a law
that for the next 30 days, anyone who prayed to anyone or anything other than
the king would be tossed to the lions.
Because
of his status in the government, Daniel probably was one of the first to hear
of the decree, allowing him time to start scheming a way out. Daniel could have
tried to use his political clout to expose the agenda of the officials; he
could have prayed in secret for the next month; but Daniel did not compromise. He
was not required by the Law to pray at any particular time, at any assigned
place, or in any specific position, but it was his habit to pray three times a
day, in his room, on his knees. So, in spite of the new law, three times a day
he got down on his knees and prayed, thanking God just as he had always done.
It
is ironic that Daniel was appointed to his position of responsibility because
of his integrity and now it was the very thing that was being used against him. He shows us how to remain faithful in the midst of a
hostile environment and how to “live with and serve people who do not share or
respect [our] beliefs.”* He may have been tempted to compromise in
order to save his life, but he clung to his faith in the God he worshipped and
obeyed.
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When Christians believe God placed them in their community to transform it for his glory and respond by committing themselves to prayer, holy living, and sacrificial service, there is no limit to the amount of change God can bring about.* |
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