Daniel Rose

Psalm 135; Daniel 6:1-28; 1 John 2:12-17

As I read these passages together this morning the combination of 1 John 2 and Daniel 6 were particularly intriguing. Daniel had to make a decision, would he set aside his faithful commitment to his God for the sake of worldly power?

He was on the verge of becoming the ruler of the whole kingdom. Surely, he was aware of the king’s plans for him. When the edict came down that nobody should pray to anyone but the king, Daniel was at a decision point. Would he risk being thrown into the lion’s den or would he embrace the power at his fingertips?

As I sit in my comfortable coffee shop sipping an iced americano, this feels so far away from me. Yet, it likely isn’t.

Every day we are faced with opportunities to do the right thing or to do the wrong thing for the right end. I think that many of us have fallen into a mindset that the end justifies the means. The Scriptures argue against that at every turn. God, desires us to do right for the sake of doing right. The ends are God’s to determine.

Daniel was an exile in the land of the empire. He was at the cusp of taking power over the whole of the kingdom. Imagine all he could accomplish on behalf of his people! All he had to do was not openly pray. Surely this is a small price to pay for the good of his people. But, it was the wrong thing to do even though the potential end was good. He chose to do what was right.

Today, when I’m faced with doing the wrong thing for the right ends, what will I do?