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The Resolution of an Uncompromising Life

Daniel 1

Even though Daniel was only about 14 when Nebuchadnezzar brought him into the Babylonian court, he refused to compromise his beliefs. He drew the line where God drew the line.

Without question there were enormous pressures to "give in." He could have cited his youth—who could blame a young teenager for caving in to the pressure? He could have pointed to his precarious minority status. He could have claimed that because he was so far from home, he couldn't help himself. He could have simply confessed he was afraid of the king. He could even have constructed some fine rationalization for his failure to do what he knew was right—but he didn't. He drew the line where God drew the line.

Had Daniel not said "no" to Ashpenaz when the order came to eat unclean food, his history would not have been written in the hall of fame, but in the hall of failure. Because he purposed in his heart to do right, his name belongs among the greatest of God's servants.

The story of compromise in the Bible is a sad and sickening tale. Its results are consistently the same: compromise always leads to loss.

Adam compromised God's law, followed his wife's sin, and lost Paradise. Esau compromised and lost his birthright to Jacob in exchange for a meal. Aaron compromised his convictions about idolatry and he and his contemporaries lost the opportunity to enter the Promised Land. Samson compromised his character with Delilah and lost his strength, his eyes, and his life. Ananias and Sapphira compromised their word about giving, lied to the Holy Spirit, and lost their lives. Judas compromised his supposed love for Christ for thirty pieces of silver and lost his eternal soul.

The influence Daniel eventually gained wasn't because he broke the rules, but because he refused to budge when God said "no." He lived an uncompromising life, and God honored him for it and used him in a tremendously significant way.

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