Daniel could not change the influences around him but he did have control over his reaction to these influences. Daniel purposed in his heart. (Dan. 1:8) Even though he was learning a new language and a new literature and a new lifestyle he drew the line when it came to eating the king's meat. He had a biblical admonition regarding this. He purposed in his heart not to do it. Here was a young man who would not compromise.

We should find it interesting that there's no attempt on Daniel's part to separate himself from the culture around him. Daniel was no isolationist as some are today. He was capable of interacting with the pagan culture around him without being contaminated by it. We should know that we will never be salt and light and influence our culture if we're totally isolated from it. Daniel actually learned from his culture. He compared it to what he understood from God's point of view. What we need today is what Daniel had — that is, a knowledge and perception of what is biblical and what is not. Part of the problem with our own pagan culture is that the church has retreated from it for years. Some of us have given in to it and given up on it. Then, very subtly in place of influencing it, the culture began to influence the church, so much so that we are hard pressed to see the biblical pattern of the church we find in Acts in many modern churches today.

Advertisement

Look at Daniel. He went along with the teaching because he already knew what he believed. He went along with the name change because he knew that they could change his name but not his heart. But Daniel drew the line when it came to "eating the king's meat." Now, one would think it might be just the opposite — that is, that he would go along with something like food and say no to the name change. On the surface, had you asked me, I might have advised him to stay away from the literature, to not pollute his mind with the godless morals of the pagan ideas. Why did Daniel say yes to the education but no to the food? He drew the line on what the Word of God said. There's no strict prohibition to taking a different name or learning what others believe. However, in that Jewish dispensation there was a strong prohibition about what Jews could eat. Not only was Nebuchadnezzar's food not kosher, it had been offered to idols. Daniel did not refuse the king's meat because he was a vegetarian or a dietary fanatic. He obeyed the Word of God. He took his stand upon the Word of God.

One of the reasons so many of us fall into our own world culture is that we do not know what the Bible says and thus we compromise and assimilate ourselves into the culture with no real convictions. Seldom do we "purpose in our hearts" so that when the time comes and we have to make a decision, we've already made it in our heart and mind. Daniel was just a teenager at this time. Most of life's major decisions are made in our youth. Decisions regarding our careers, our marriages, our friends, our habits, even decisions of trusting Christ are made when we are young. Daniel had made his decision long before he got to Babylon. He "purposed in his heart" to stand upon the Word of God. Daniel did not wait until he got to an intersection of life to decide which way he would turn. He had already made his mind up before he got there.