Daniel 1:8: “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.“
Daniel is one of the Bible characters whose life example we can follow. Even though he was working in the Kingdom of Babylon that worship idols and other gods, Daniel still worshipped His God faithfully and diligently and did what the king has entrusted him with. He even became one of the trusted people of the king. Daniel is the example of an excellent person.
To become an excellent person, there are a few criteria we need to fulfill. First is to be faithful. In the midst of his busyness, Daniel still prayed, praised and worshipped the Lord three times a day, facing Jerusalem. What he did enabled him to have an excellent spirit. He was also faithful to the king and fulfilled his responsibilities well.
Another one of the criteria is to have a true principle (not compromising). Daniel was not afraid and did not stop praying even though there was a rule from the king that the palace guards were not to pray to God. Daniel also held on to the principle of not defiling himself with the food that had been offered to the idol. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego did the same. They were not willing to worship the statue of Nebuchadnezzar even though they were threatened to be put into the fiery furnace. It proves how their faithfulness with God and their persistence to do what is right resulted in God’s miracle and defense.
The next criterion is to be bold in going against the current. A dead fish will follow the current, but a living one can go against it. As God’s children, we cannot follow the worldly standards that are derailing and have the opposite values from the Word of God. We have to boldly stand on the truth and believe that the Lord will defend us. It’s better to be right and pleasing before the Lord than receiving praise from people because of following the wrong current.
Another important one is to have integrity. There are a few meanings of the word integrity: being honest, having morals, having good etiquette and can be trusted. Our actions need to match our words. Those who have good integrity will be a good example to others. They can be trusted in their words and actions; and not only by people but also God.
Let us continue to fix ourselves and have the determination to be an excellent person. God bless.
hs/Publishing Team, IBC Church