Dare to be a Daniel

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Stay on the Lord’s side

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”.

As simple as the above scripture sounds, it is a very hard decision to make, especially in this age. In fact, I can almost say categorically that many Christians cannot take such a bold step and adhere to it. Now let’s examine the scripture passage a little:

Daniel was the one who decided on his own that those foods would corrupt him. Do you always view things from God’s perspective or from men’s acceptance?

The food being given to them did not come from a fraudulent or dubious practice; it was the portion assigned to them by the king; it was their entitlement, even though it would corrupt them. Can you, as a student, reject cheating in an examination even when others are doing it and invigilators are not complaining?

Daniel (going by the king’s daily provision) did not have options other than to eat the food apportioned to them by the king, and his decision (if later discovered by the king) can cost ‘the Eunuch in charge of feeding’ his job or his life. However, Daniel used his influence to demand what he considered the appropriate meal without feeling cheated or bad that other people were eating expensive and assorted food. He was very disciplined with his ideology. Can you reject embezzlement where it has become common practice?

You will agree with me that some Christians were not corrupt until they were tested with power. Some became corrupt when they got promoted to a higher grade in their place of work, while some politicians became corrupt when they were given power over public funds. They became corrupt when they were exposed to “real money”, when they got to the position where public funds (the national cake) were at their disposal. Read John 12:6

In Nigeria today, Peter Obi seems to stand out (among many politicians) because of his ideology about public funds: he believes public funds belong to the public and should be spent on the public, not for personal gratification. He believes he was a rich man before coming into politics and so cannot depend on “the national cake” to survive or to allocate public funds to his family members under whatever name. However, while many politicians also believed they’d been rich before coming to office, they also believed (by practice) that their family members must greatly benefit from public funds even though they were not elected by the masses. They cannot take sides with Daniel. Can you take sides with God where corruption has become the norm and is generally accepted by your class or community?