Daniel 1; 6 · Earn Trust
Daniel
His rivals audited his whole career looking for something to use, and found nothing.
The story
Daniel was taken to Babylon as a young man and placed in training for the king’s service. Early on he “resolved that he would not defile himself with the king’s food” (Dan. 1:8). He did not stage a protest. He asked the steward for a ten-day test with a different diet, and offered to be judged by the results.
Decades later, under a new empire, Daniel was one of three senior officials over the whole kingdom, and the king planned to set him over all of it. His rivals went looking for grounds to bring him down.
“They could find no ground for complaint or any fault, because he was faithful, and no error or fault was found in him.”Daniel 6:4
So they made his faith illegal. For thirty days, anyone who prayed to any god or man except the king would be thrown to the lions. Daniel went home, where his windows were open toward Jerusalem, and knelt three times a day, “as he had done previously” (Dan. 6:10).
The king who had signed the law spent the day trying to rescue him. Daniel spent the night with the lions and walked out in the morning.
What the story teaches
Trust began with a small decision in private. The resolve about food came long before the lions. Character under great pressure is built under small pressure.
He proposed a test, not a fight. Daniel held his conviction and respected the man responsible for him. He offered a way for both to succeed.
Excellence came with the conviction. He was distinguished because “an excellent spirit was in him” (Dan. 6:3). His faith did not excuse him from doing the work well.
The audit found nothing. Hostile investigators with every motive to find a fault could not. Most leaders will never face a test that severe. Daniel lived as though he would.
He did not change his routine. He did not hide, and he did not put on a show. He did what he had always done, where he had always done so.
Trust outlasted regimes. Daniel served under several kings and two empires. Each new ruler found the same man.
Try this week
- Imagine your rivals reviewing your expenses, your messages, and your calendar. Fix the first thing they would find.
- The next time a directive conflicts with your convictions, propose a test with a measurable result before you refuse.
- Pick one private habit that keeps you steady, and keep the habit every day this week regardless of pressure.
Read the ROAR issue Same person in every room, or run the Quarterly Integrity Review with your team.
Sources
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2001.
Passages studied: Daniel 1; 6.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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