Distinguish!
Daniel 6:3”Then this Daniel began distinguishing himself among the commissioners and satraps because he possessed an extraordinary spirit, and the king planned to appoint him over the entire kingdom.”
While I was meditating the above scripture of Daniel being ‘distinguished’ among the other commissioners and satraps, that made him an outstanding figure in the kingdom of Darius, I just began jotting down a few points, let me share them with you so that you understand that it is not my hook or by crook or through swinging a magical wand that he captured the attention of the king, Daniel was a breath-taking, awesome package of good stuff:
Tenacity: In the midst of loneliness and bondage; Daniel’s tenacity and audacity did not dent one bit, his Hebrew name was taken away and replaced with a pagan god name Belshazzar, yet his spirit remained strong. Lesson for us: No fun dancing while everything is hunky-dory, we got to sustain the joy while things take a dip in our life.
Commitment: Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king's choice food or with the wine which he drank. Lesson for us: Living in the midst of a crooked generation, we would face situations when our integrity would be tested, that’s when we got to grind our teeth and stay righteous for God. For example, you may be coerced into attending booze party by saying that your job demands that you cooperate; yet, you can still have soft drinks and glorify God in your job. Let me tell you here, I got saved while working for a top Executive of a multinational bank where socializing is a predominant culture; yet, I stayed away from worldly stuff.
When Daniel said ‘no’ to the king’s choice food and the wine, it’s just not only to do with alcohol but there was something more deeper to that – Daniel just extricated himself from the ‘royal culture’. You know what, the king promised to give the students his food and wine for 3 years just to get them healthy and polished but after 3 years? Did you watch the tactics of the enemy? Lesson for us: Once you get hooked up with luxury, opulence and ape the world, you would end in neck deep debts! When I resigned my job with fantastic perks, reimbursement of medical insurance and lot more, the first thing I did was to change my life style to match my calling! Did you hear me? Right from the toiletry items to my mode of transport took a sweeping change, the net result was debt-free, trouble-free, stress-free, hassle-free dignified life! Never have I ashamed or bothered my extended family members through irrational decisions or unwise financial dealings in our ministry – today they are proud to watch us run our show with pomp and grandeur through the grace of God. Can I tell you here that I have never borrowed, pledged and used ATM to withdraw money on loan, we stayed firm and committed, though at times the struggle was intense and tough. Praise God! Lesson for us: We need perseverance like Daniel.
During his interaction with students of various schools and colleges, when asked ‘how he felt when he started working in Google while everyone else around were more experienced, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, 43 year old tech executive said: ’It is always good to work with people who make you feel insecure about yourself. That way you will constantly keep pushing your limits.” (extract from The Hindu ) I would like to add one more from my side, though handsome, smart and intelligent, yet, since he was a Jew and a slave, I guess this thought of insecurity kept Daniel on his toes, working hard all the time.
All the above qualities and much more, propelled and catapulted Daniel to a high position in his career and life. He always moved and worked among kings! Boy, this is something!
