I don't know if you noticed or not, but, I seemed to skip right over the 6th Chapter of Daniel and jump into Jeremiah 29. That said, let's step back just a bit and examine another of the most popular Bible stories ever read.
Many years ago, I owned my own business. The nature of the business often required weekend hours. The people who worked for me knew I was involved in church, that I was Christian. When we had to work on Sunday I made sure the employees could attend church with their families before to work. I don't remember one of them ever taking advantage of that, but looking back I could have done more to encourage this. I could have been more of an example. I should have closed on Sunday; that would have been the most effective witness.
Daniel 6:3 (NIV)
"Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent
Daniel was one of the administrators over the rulers of King Darius' satraps (governors),of the land. As we can tell from the verse above, Daniel was good and what he did and he was honest and hardworking. He set a good example to his non-believing peers, but because they had no faith in the One True God, they were threatened by Daniel. He may have been 80 years old, but he was a rising star in the eyes of the King.
Daniel's behavior at work, his integrity and diligence not only caught the king's eye, but his fellow co-workers as well, were watching him. We know the story goes on to tell of Daniel's overnight stay in the lions' den, and of the miraculous events surrounding it, but the message is that his co-workers were watching him. If Daniel were merely 'one of the boys', he would not have had an impact on the other administrators.
The lesson today is one that could have kingdom consequences for our bothers and sisters in the workplace. We cannot have to separate modes of behavior, one for church on Sunday and one for work on Monday. On Monday, we can change the world; we can offer people a taste of the good life. Not a life of worldly riches and comfort but a life of peace and joy that is filled with hope.
Read Daniel 6 here
Listen to Daniel 6 here
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