Daniel and The Lions' Den (Daniel 6)
Richard Walker - February 15, 2004
Integrity Under Pressure
It is sometimes difficult to look at biblical characters and draw conclusions for one’s own life. After all, if you don’t interpret dreams, and are unlikely to be made Prime Minister, then should you book a trip to Regents Park and try to get into the lion enclosure?
Some aspects of Daniel’s life may be closer than you imagine. He was forced to leave his own country, trek a long distance, and settle into a foreign culture and language. He was not able to return to his own land. He enjoyed success and subsequent obscurity. He was arrested for pursuing his normal daily unremarkable life.
We have selected integrity to be the big issue to take out of this passage, since Daniel’s detractors could find no grounds on which to criticise him. The danger is that you might think that as long as you keep your head down, and do not enter into public office, then the lower the standards that you can adopt. “I can just be the ordinary Christian in the pew”
There is some sense in that, as the demands of public office are high. We expect higher standards of our public servants than we do of the public. If you read high circulation newspapers, then that might not be too difficult. It does give rise to the “Outraged of Finchley effect”, echoed by some of our politicians, seeking to advance themselves at someone else’s expense. This reverberates in the pub, as we discuss how terrible everyone else is, and “We wouldn’t do a thing like that”. Part of the problem lies in the expectations that we run for ourselves and others.
However, Daniel was just doing the ordinary things, and was not caught for some high-level policy decision about underprivileged people. It was his everyday life that was important. We all have mundane aspects to our life, and it is likely to be there that we will be judged by those around us.
Back to expectations. If you compile a list of all the things you should do, it becomes quite exhausting.
We can be running around like a headless chicken, fulfilling other people’s expectations. Worse, it’s all these “efficiencies” which are supposed to be releasing us to do the important things in life. Not that some of the things on my list aren’t important, but you have to work out the balance. I for one, am not in the business of “you shouldn’t do that” but I might be thinking “have you thought that through?” or “I wouldn’t do that if I were you”.
People do come to me for professional advice, and I will try to teach and inform, so that people can make a better informed choice. I won’t however make the choices for them. I don’t wish to be responsible for someone else’s choices.
I don’t respond to:
- “What should I do, doc?”
- “Well you’re the doctor!” (as if I didn’t know)
We doctors are guilty of leaving people with the impression that some of our medicines are more powerful than they really are to help people to take them. We can reduce the number of heart attacks and strokes, by giving large numbers of people tablets to lower their blood pressure or cholesterol. Most of those people would never have had an event, but we don’t know who the single beneficiary is, the one in 62 or one in 250, so we treat them all!
Anyway, back to the list of expectations. These are just a few of the things that someone else might think you ought to do. So how do we decide what balance to strike in how we spend our time and talents. And does it matter what other people think of us?
Well, yes and no. Ultimately it’s what God thinks of us that counts, but a lot of people have defended their bizarre, selfish and uncaring behaviour behind some personal judgement that they’ve checked it out with God and he says its OK. A friend of mine, as a young man, was accosted by a young woman who told him that God had revealed to her that she was to marry him. My friend temporised by asking if they might wait until God had confirmed that with him.
Sometimes we can hide our own selfishness in our desire to do things for “the family”, often without fully realising the nature of the problem. “If it’s for my wife/son/mother then it’s fine” or is it?
Besides, you don’t need any integrity, unless you want someone else to believe you – you don’t need integrity to influence others, after all Hitler, Stalin, and Al Capone managed without it.
However if you want to bring people into the kingdom of God, then it would seem important to be credible.
Are you in the business of bringing people to Jesus Christ? What aspects of your life stand in the way?
When we talk about integrity of an aircraft, spaceship or submarine, then we are describing an outer skin with no holes in it. If we speak of a computer system, then it doesn’t crash, and is resistant to hackers and virus attack. When we talk of a person however:
- Sleep 8 hours / night
- Read your bible
- Pray regularly
- Take regular exercise
- Eat well
- Dress smartly
- Be good at your job
- Socialise with your work colleagues
- Give time to your children/spouse/parents/friends
- Keep up with old friends
- Support church activities, house group, prayer meeting, services
- Take regular holidays
- Develop an absorbing hobby
- Maintain connections with non-Christian friends
- Keep abreast of current affairs
- Read books
- Decorate your house
- Keep a tidy garden
- Wash your car
- Visit your dentist
- Send Christmas cards
- Keep up with neighbours
- Clean the oven
- Tidy the garage
- Clean the fish tank
- Get the boiler serviced
- Sweep the paths
- Clean the windows
- Clear the ironing
- Wash the curtains
- Shampoo the carpets
- Polish the table
- Mend the chairs
- Clear your in-tray every day
- Check your bank account
- Flowers and chocolates
- Birthday cards and presents
- Thank You letters
“What does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8)
What is integrity?
- Intellectual
- Hearing/Listening
- Speaking/Being Understood
- Thinking Straight or believe what you want to?
Emotional
- Allowing your own feelings
- Owning your own feelings
- Feeling other people’s feelings
- Responding to other people
Financial
- Paying your way
- Giving appropriately
- Resisting “Discount”
Physical
- Regular Exercise
- Sensible Drinking
- Sensible Eating
- Temple of God (not a warehouse)
Spiritual
- Communion with God
- Communion with His People