This week we will be looking at the story of Daniel in the Lion’s Den. But how did the whole incident begin? Envy.
Daniel 6: 1Darius divided his kingdom into a hundred and twenty states and placed a governor in charge of each one. 2In order to make sure that his government was run properly, Darius put three other officials in charge of the governors. One of these officials was Daniel. 3 And he did his work so much better than the other governors and officials that the king decided to let him govern the whole kingdom.
4 The other men tried to find something wrong with the way Daniel did his work for the king. But they could not accuse him of anything wrong, because he was honest and faithful and did everything he was supposed to do.[1]
Jews were a captured people but here is Daniel, a Jew, ruling over his captors. Ethnic tensions have always existed in this sinful world. God had gifted Daniel in administration, and he was faithful to use his gifts. Daniel’s co-workers were jealous, they wanted Daniel’s position. They tried to find something that could get Daniel fired. But Daniel didn’t have any skeletons in his closet. He was honest and did what he was supposed to do.
Paul tells his mentee, Titus, to do something similar as Titus teaches the Word. Titus 2: 7 Always set a good example for others. Be sincere and serious when you teach. 8 Use clean language that no one can criticize. Do this, and your enemies will be too ashamed to say anything against you.[2] This is good advice for us today. We should live in a way that our critics really can’t complain about us. What do you do if you have negative history, possibly something that happened before you became a believer? The best thing is to be honest and open about it. Use it to show how God has worked in your life to change you.
God, however, doesn’t promise that if you live an upright life that you won’t have any enemies. Paul assumes Titus will have enemies and gives advice on how to deal with them. Paul also says in Colossians 3: 17 Whatever you say or do should be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, as you give thanks to God the Father because of him.[3] We are to honor God in all that we do, even if our enemies criticize us.
To hear more about the story of Daniel, listen here: https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/series/daniel-a-man-of-character/daniel-in-the-lions-den
[1,2,3] Contemporary English Version (CEV) Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society