Daniel a man of integrity (2)
Daniels new imminent promotion infuriated his political enemies, business and evil competitors and treacherous squatters! “We must eliminate Daniel” and they got to work on this.
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And here is my great teaser, v.4 “Then the other administrators and high officers began searching for some fault in the way Daniel was handling government affairs, but they couldn’t find anything to criticise or condemn. He was faithful, always responsible, and completely trustworthy”.
The enemies could not punch any hole into Daniels integrity and his abilities were unmatched.
They resorted to matters of his private life - they trailed him to smell his strongest quality - his faithful worship of God!!
Daniel was about 80-85 years old at this time. It is troubling to hear the alleged, treacheries, betrayals and confusion at the Electoral Commission (EC). Integrity seems to have fled through the windows.
We shouldn’t think that this is happening at the EC alone. There are other work places and business company teams going through similar situations or worse trouble.
Daniel’s enemies’ plot hatched did succeed but look at Daniel’s response, “Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days” v.10, NKJV.
What would have been your first response in such a situation? Usually we would place a call to a key person we know or link up with very influential people by day or night to fix the problem?
Daniel’s first response was to pray to the almighty god. It is extremely important that we follow Daniel’s example here.
Prayer must be our first response rather than our last resort!
Daniel could not be trapped in the dragons of money, sex and power in public life and community life. And there was none to blow his cover and blackmail him. (The king lost his sleep caring for Daniel his employee. God knew Daniel was innocent of charges levelled against him.)
Daniel accusers perish together with their wives and children! How sad? And the king gave the command, and they brought those men who had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions—them, their children, and their wives; and the lions overpowered them, and broke all their bones in pieces before they ever came to the bottom of the den. (v24).
A person’s treachery and evil scheming could dangerously hurt his family members. Integrity and the even if element in the Book of Daniel, should challenge us.
Let me quote from some authors:
Integrity
- It means being faithful, honest, whole, undivided
- You can’t fake it
- It is the greatest need in the church & society
- It starts in the heart
- It is consistent and impartial
- It is the real deal
- It is being loyal to your Christian identity, every time everywhere.
- It shows in the small things as well as big
- It is relational. It is the character of Christ Kingdom Life.
In conclusion,
- God was present with Daniel in the palace.
- God was present with Daniel in the market place or work place.
- The glory of God shines forth through Daniel’s private devotion and public service.
“When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father”. John 15:8
At the end of our working life, what legacy will we leave behind? Someone has said, “Well done, good and faithful servant, from Christ to me is the goal; and from others to me is a bonus.”
(The author is a Leadership Development and Cross-cultural Ministries Consultant. Email: [email protected] / [email protected])