How would you respond if you were invited to a king’s palace for a meal!? Many may consider it a great honor and privilege. However, that is not how Daniel felt when he was offered the king’s food and delicacies!
If we were invited to a king’s palace, we may feel very special and important! We may even think of it as a blessing from the Lord. Some may even consider the opportunity as the pinnacle of importance!
When you sit down to eat with a ruler,
Consider carefully what is before you;
2 And put a knife to your throat
If you are a man given to appetite.
3 Do not desire his delicacies,
For they are deceptive food. Proverbs 23:1-3
But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. Daniel 1:8
Daniel had a different reaction. He was already serving the King. His King was the King of Kings and the Lord of lords! He had been in the presence of his King long before he came before the presence of the Babylonian king! His arrival at the palace was just one of many assignments that God had for him, but His identity wasn’t tied to it.
Daniel refused to eat from the king’s table because his allegiance was to the true King. Daniel had an excellent spirit, and He remained consistent, courageous, and devoted as unto the Lord.
An ambassador of Christ has a mission from the Kingdom of God, and he never is supposed to get caught up with the culture and custom of the foreign country. When we come with that kind of attitude about our assignment, our perspective and our response to situations change. We are not in need of man recognizing us or giving us privileges. We’re also not afraid of those privileges to be taken away. We know we have been recognized by the most important person in heaven and earth, so now our focus is how to please Him and be His instrument in the new ministry station.
An excellent spirit comes from having settled the issue of Lordship. A person with an excellent spirit remains humble. Furthermore, his/her focus and mission does not change. One doesn’t get angry and frustrated with those who are willing to play the favorite or who seek the earthly king’s approval. They know what pleases the Lord and have set their face like flint before Him. Others can run ahead of them, be favored, get to do more in the earthly kingdom, but they are satisfied with their King’s approval.
Are you in an environment where people are expected to compromise? Do you have a tendency to be impressed by authority, status, or wealth? How are you handling it?
Image by JEROME CLARYSSE from Pixabay