By Adrian Isaacs
One of the challenges that we as Christians face is the pressure to conform. A “spirit of the age” runs counter to Biblical truth, which we encounter as we interact with society. We might be tempted to see as harmless certain sinful behaviours that society regards as acceptable. We may be tempted to compromise our personal, Biblical convictions in order to “fit in” with a crowd – perhaps our friends at school or our co-workers. Or, we may be tempted to hold back sharing our testimony to avoid drawing attention to Christ among those of other faiths.
One of the things that we can learn from the life of Daniel is the value (and reward) of resisting the pressure to conform to the environment within which we are situated, and maintaining our Biblical convictions by God’s grace. In Daniel 1, we see that Daniel – in the palace of the pagan King, Nebuchadnezzar – was assigned to eat and drink the food and wine from the king’s table. The problem was that for Daniel, both of these were ceremonially unclean. If he were to partake in what was given to him, he would compromise His faith and defile himself. We are told that “Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine…” (Dan. 1:8, NIV). Instead, he requested that vegetables and water be given to him and his companions.
The key here is Daniel’s resolve to remain faithful to God in this situation, despite the environment he was in. And what we see is that this step of faith resulted in Daniel and his companions standing out. Not only were they different in what they ate and drank, but “they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food” (Dan. 1:15).
A takeaway for us today is the importance of resolving in our hearts how we will respond to the various temptations to blend into society in ways that contradict God’s Word. Let us resolve ahead of time that by faith and in dependence upon the Lord, we will be different than the crowd – not to make a scene, but to honour God and remain true to Him. We will stand out, but in doing so, there will be opportunity for Jesus Christ to be made known and to be glorified!
