You know the story. These young men are told to eat the king’s food and drink the king’s drink. The reasons are not completely clear in the text, but since it says that Daniel refused to defile himself, it is likely that the food had been offered to Babylonian idols. Daniel’s faith was now on trial. That is what happens in Babylon, in tough times, in hard times, in places where God is mocked.
I told you last week about returning from Britain with a burden. That burden will not be lifted in my heart until I see revival in America. But this I can tell you: in Britain today, there are not many middle-of-the-road Christians. You are with God or you with the world. If our nation continues on its slide toward Gomorrah, then this will become our Babylon and our nation will become a place where true holiness is defined.
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True holiness is a life consumed with the love of God in Christ. True holiness is not religiosity or a goody-two-shoes holiness. That kind of pseudo-holiness cannot withstand the heat of the wilderness or the temptations of Babylon. That kind of holiness cannot withstand the promise of greatness that will come if only you will consume the idolatrous food and drink, if only you will bend the knee.
I heard from a soldier who recently went to battle in Iraq. I heard him say that it is when you are moving through the war-torn, insurgent-infested rubble of Fallujah that you come to understand what you and your unit are really made of.
As a businessman I remember that true holiness was defined, not on Sunday morning, but in the workweek when decisions had to be made that involved living for Christ when being called to join the crowd and live like He wasn’t there. True faith is defined when you are out of town and all day meetings turn into all night partying and you are faced with following Christ or compromising, risking alienation from your boss who grades your performance or assuring isolation from the Lord who loves you.
Maybe you are where you are right now, beloved, to prove the metal of your faith, to determine whether your holiness is a religious, man-centered legalism or a heart constrained by the love of Jesus Christ. As Bryan Chapell said: “We resolve to remain undefiled for the sake of Jesus, who washes us with his blood and holds us in his love.”3
Discipleship in Babylon — A sacred place where others become disciples (Daniel 1:17-21)
At the conclusion of this story, Daniel chose a simple diet, chose an honorable way to be obedient to his new authority and to honor God. The Bible says that God will honor those who honor Him. Listen to what happened in the court of the Babylonian king (Daniel 1:17-20).