Daniel was determined not to defile himself by eating the food and wine given to them by the king. He asked the chief of staff for permission not to eat these unacceptable foods.
Now God had given the chief of staff both respect and affection for Daniel…“Please test us for ten days on a diet of vegetables and water,” Daniel said. “At the end of the ten days, see how we look compared to the other young men who are eating the king’s food. Then make your decision in light of what you see.”
The attendant agreed to Daniel’s suggestion and tested them for ten days.
Daniel and his friends were an elite, talented group of young men, plucked from Jerusalem and taken to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar.
But the king didn’t send these boys to the salt mines, they were sent to “college” for three years and educated in the customs, language and wisdom of the Babylonians. Daniel and his friends were to be given the best education and the best the king had to offer. It would be like the British taking young captives during the Revolutionary war and then enrolling them in Oxford or Cambridge and then employing them in the service of King George.
Daniel and his friends were away from home, in a pagan society, in a place of privilege and excess. It would be very easy to conform to what was going on.
But Daniel was determined not to defile himself.
There is a real parallel for many of us in who are students or employed in the secular world.
We too are in a pagan society where anything goes. And in North American society, and especially here in Southern California, it’s a culture of privilege and excess. And it’s very easy to conform to what is going on around us.
The answer is not to put our heads in the sand and withdraw or rail against culture. Rather we who seek to follow Christ, must engage culture. But we must do it without compromising our message of the gospel, or our purity.
So how do we engage culture with the gospel, yet retain purity? How do we live godly among the ungodly?
Serious minded Christians face this question daily in the workplace. Daniel provides a good example for us to consider.
There is a way that we can be separate and holy — without being disrespectful, condescending, proud, political or dramatic.
What is interesting about Daniel is what he didn’t do:
He did not act disrespectfully to those who ruled over him.
He did not demand his rights.
He did not condemn the other Hebrew young men who did eat the king’s food.
He didn’t politicize it.
Daniel just said: “I don’t want to defile myself. Is it possible for me to eat vegetables and drink water instead?”
Daniel spoke up when he was required to do something against the will of God, but he did so with grace and humility.
Time and time again, I have had to stand up in the workplace and say: “No, I will not do this or be involved in this”. But I have to do it with grace, with humility and with a little humor. Overall — your employer will honor your decisions and your integrity if you have their respect.
Daniel’s request was honored because he had the “respect and affection” of his boss. As Christians, as leaders, as people, we can DEMAND respect, or we can COMMAND respect by our behavior.
Simply put, Daniel had the attitude and the altitude (performance) that commanded respect and affection from his employer.
Humility and honor go a long way in gaining the respect of your employer.
But good work, in fact excellent work goes hand in hand with that.
When we have the attitude of Christ-like humility (Phil 2:5-8) and the excellence and altitude of someone who does everything for the glory of God (1 Cor 10:31), the Lord will give us favor with people and generally, with our employers.
What is your attitude at work? Towards your employer?
Have an attitude of humility like Christ, be cheerful, be excellent in your work.
Romans 12:2 says: “Do not be conformed to this world, but rather be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what [is] that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
Prove the will of God at work: That a life in submission to the Savior is the best course for all men. But prove it with your attitude, your altitude and your integrity.
Invited & Called 
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