Have you ever thought that something didn't matter because it was such a little thing? Or have you ever decided to tell a lie thinking that it was just a white lie? Daniel lived a life dedicated to following the truth. He lived a life of no compromise. I wonder how many times I compromise my faith by the choices that I make.
The other week we went through the book of Daniel in class. To sum it up, it blew my mind! I was so challenged by the book of Daniel. It made me want to live a life of no compromise in my faith. We all know the story of Daniel and the lions den from Sunday school but the way Daniel lived his life gave him oppurtunities for God to be proclaimed among the nations.
Daniel was exiled as a young man to Babylon around 605BC. He could have been a teenager. So imagine yourself in a foreign country. Who knows where your parents are, and you are forced to learn another language. You are given another name. You are given different food. You are given different ideas, thoughts, and introduced to different religons. This is what Babylon did to Daniel, they tried to disciple him and turn him into a Babylonian.
Coming from a conquered nation where the most common mindset towards the higher powers was that when one nation conquered another that meant that that nation's god was more powerful than the nation that was defeated. Also that same mindset believed that gods were territorial which meant that one god didn't have any power in another gods territory. This was a common mindset even among the people of Judah who were exiled to Babylon.
Daniel had all this stuff going on, he was bombarded with pagan mindsets and people wanting to change him into what they wanted. Yet Daniel stayed true to God. He chose to continue to follow the law and continued to worship the Lord and pray to Him. He trusted in the Lord and believed in Him even though horrible things were happening to him, around him and to his countrymen. Daniel stayed faithful and God blessed him for it. Daniel lived for the Lord, he didn't care about fame and riches which is why I believe that he rejected the gifts of Belshazzar. Daniel lived for the Lord and no other. He didn't want to compromise his faith to the Lord even in the little things. Because of this God used him to proclaim the Lord's name throughout the nations. Once under the Babylonian Empire and another under the Persian Empire. Just think, being obedient in what may seem small at the time could possibly be used to disciple nations.
Daniel didn't start out thinking that he was going to change Babylon for the Lord. No he started out thinking that he was going to remain holy to God, walk securly in truth. Everyday he likely awoke thinking how can I serve the Lord today. It was that obedience that ended up proclaiming God to the nations and discipling the nations. So I wonder if I am compromising my faith by doing something that hinders the gospel of Jesus from my mouth. I would like to say no but the answer is yes. So my challenge is to live a life without compromise, serving the Lord everyday, and choosing to be a discipler of the nations rather than being discipled by the nations.
