Saturday, January 06, 2007

God > everything

This morning, I was hit by Daniel 6:5.  A little background: at this point in his life, Daniel has seen at least two Babylonian kings on the throne, having himself been exiled from his homeland and sent to the royal palace to be trained as an advisor.  He's now been at this for a while, and his name is well-known in the court.  In fact, Daniel is the third highest official in Babylon, and Darius the Mede, the current king, is so impressed with him that he's thinking of promoting him even higher.

The other officials are less than pleased, and they start a conspiracy to bring Daniel down.  Problem is, Daniel has such integrity that they can't dig up any dirt on him.  So, in verse 5, they realize this:

"We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless is has something to do with the law of his God."

After years  of being surrounded by decadence, in a position of power, Daniel's only political weak spot is that he worships God above the king.  And the people around him know it.

That inspires me.  I want to live the kind of life that says, what that guy cares about, above all else, is what God wants.  To be that kind of example... man.

In case you're wondering, the conspiracy works.  In a way.  Read the rest of Daniel 6 for one of the coolest stories in the Old Testament.