Daniel 1:11–16 ‘At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food.’ (v15)
It would seem that Daniel was a first-class honours kind of guy. For this reason, he had been deported from Israel and taken thousands of miles away to Babylon to serve in the king’s palace for a three-year training course.
We now know, of course, that Daniel would have had considerable influence in his role in Babylon.
But at this point in time he is young and had done little in life, and so standing against the accepted diet must have taken considerable courage, especially when he was challenged and expressed confidence that a vegetable-based diet, which would not contravene his dietary rules as a Jew, would be successful.
Vegetarians of course love this passage of Scripture! But whatever the merits of vegetarianism, the simple point is that there are times when we need to be prepared to stand for what we believe.
One Christian leader has said that if we have enemies as Christians it maybe because we are prepared to stand up for something.
We are foolish to create enemies for their own sake, but not everyone will appreciate our choices.
Maybe in the old days this was paying for private phone calls from the office when no one else did! Now it might be how we pay tradesmen who we suspect are asking for cash to avoid paying tax.
You will work out the best way, and God will honour you. In some cases, as with Daniel, this may even mean looking healthier than others!
A Prayer To Make:
‘Give me the courage, Lord, to stand for You and help me to trust You for the outcome. Amen.’
An Action To Take:
Determine to do the right thing whenever you are faced with a situation that could compromise your faith.
Scripture To Consider:
Judg. 6:25–32; Jer. 36:11–32; Rom. 14:1–9; 1 Cor. 16:10–18
SCRIPTURE TO CONSIDER:
AN ACTION TO TAKE: A PRAYER TO MAKE:
