Stay Alert to Self-diminishing Compromises

I believe that when most of us think about Daniel our mind and memory immediately go to him and the Lion’s Den!  Yet, there is so much more about Daniel that we need to know!  In fact, the story that first introduces him to us is one that allows us to see how Daniel was able to Stay Alert to Self-diminishing Compromises.

Daniel 1:1-20 tells us that he was taken captive from his homeland and wound up in the court of King Nebuchadnezzar.  While there, he and Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, along with the other young men who were taken, were to be fed the king’s delicacies preparatory to serving in the king’s palace.  You, I am sure, remember that they choose to eat veggies and water instead and, when they were examined, were in as good, if not better, health than those who had chosen to eat what the king provided. Daniel and his three friends recognized that eating the delicacies would have been detrimental in the long run, making it beneficial that they were able to Stay Alert to Self-diminishing Compromises.

What we have to determine is, are we able to Stay Alert to Self-diminishing Compromises like Daniel did?  The problem is, often these compromises are so subtle that we don’t realize that they are, in fact, self-diminishing.  I think what it boils down to is this:  a compromise is self-diminishing if it forces us to be reliant on anyone, or anything, other than God!  Daniel recognized this though he was only a child.  Are you as discerning as he? 

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