There was a good mix in responses last week. Working on a consistent walk with God and being faithful in our work were the two biggest responses. I want to encourage you to keep going! All four of the areas are not necessarily one-time decisions, they are daily decisions we have to deal with. Another way of getting this point across would be that they are one-time decisions for you, but those decisions need to be managed daily.

Let’s look into Daniel further to see how he managed his decision of not allowing himself to be defiled in this new culture. You probably know the story–the provincial rulers of the kingdom got King Darius to sign a decree that anyone who prays to someone other than King Darius will be cast into the den of lions. Daniel, of course, still did his daily prayers to the Lord God and the provincial rulers told King Darius and although it distressed Darius he still had to cast Daniel into the den of lions to save face. God sends an angel to save Daniel from the lions. Darius is glad that Daniel was saved and makes a decree praising the God of Daniel!

Daniel’s faithfulness saved him from the lions. His faithfulness also changed the heart of King Darius–making that the second king if you are counting (Nebuchadnezzar being the first) that Daniel’s life had changed.

So, what are the worldview lessons to take from Daniel?

1. You will seldom get what you deserve from people.
2. You will always get what is best from God.
3. Your faithfulness will change lives because all of you influence others.
4. When it there is a conflict between faithfulness and fairness–faithfulness must win.

What would change in our culture if God’s people were faithful to Him? Who in your life is watching you to see if you really are faithful? Who’s lives have been or could be changed forever by your example?

More to come…
Jeremy